Two arrested in Spain

From: ABC Amsterdam
Subject:  support for Karcelona

On 23 April, 2007, Javier Mazas and Peter Gelderloos were arrested
during the police response to a small demonstration organized by the
Assamblea de la Okupacion (Squatters Assembly) on La Rambla, in
Barcelona. At the demonstration, someone set off a petarda, a loud
device designed to shoot flyers into the air. The police response
was exaggerated, and they arrested one demonstrator. Peter, a US
citizen, was arrested blocks away from the demonstration when police
became suspicious based on his appearance. At the time, Peter was
observing the first arrest and making sure police were not
mistreating the detainee

(in the US, Peter is active with Copwatch, as well as Anarchist
Black Cross, Food Not Bombs, and other groups). The two are currently
charged with illegal demonstration and public disorder, and a
terrorism-related article has been applied to impact the severity of
sentencing. Javier and Peter currently face between three and six years
imprisonment. State repression is proceeding from two angles-- first,
police are falsely claiming they saw these two set off the petarda, and
second, the government is trying to portray a small protest as a
semi-terrorist act. The investigating judge yelled at Peter that in the US
he would be sent to Guantanamo for such an action, and the prosecutor and
judge have described the petarda as a mortar, and the protest as an urban
guerrilla action designed to send the message that the squatters were a
paramilitary force. The government also initiated deportation proceedings
against Peter, and a 7 year ban from the Schengen territories (most of western
Europe), falsely claiming he was in Spain illegally (Peter's passport,
which could prove his legal entry, was locked up with him during the 48
hours allowed for appeal). After two days in custody, Javier was released
to await trial, while the judge imposed an unprecedented 30,000 euros bail on
Peter, who was sent to Modelo prison to await trial.

Surprisingly, the Barcelona collectives were able to raise bail in just
one day, and after 2 days in Modelo Peter was released on provisional
liberty, though he has to sign in at court every two weeks and remain in
Spain until trial, which might not begin for two years or more. The two
arrested would like to raise money to recover the bail and pay back the
Barcelona collectives (the money is refunded after trial but the groups
here are already strapped and the sooner they get paid back the better).
They also need money to cover court costs. If you are able to send money,
email shigmagism (at) yahoo dot com for directions, explaining how much
you can send and whether it is a loan (to defray bail, which is refunded
eventually) or a gift(to help cover legalcosts). An additional effect of
the charges is that Peter is prevented from returning to the US and
continuing his work there. (He has support obligations to several
prisoners, had been planning on working with an infoshop, and had been
preparing a tour for his two recent books-- "How Nonviolence Protects the
State" and "Consensus: A New Handbook for Grassroots Social, Political,
and Environmental Groups").

Another important way to help is to organize solidarity  with the movement
in Spain. Javier and Peter are not the first two to be  framed by the
police in Barcelona. There is a strong climate of repression here. Squatted
social centers are evicted every month, and anarchists and squatters are in
prison or awaiting trial for fighting gentrification, defending squats,
fighting the prison system, supporting immigrants, and showing solidarity
with the Italian anarchist movement (which itself was recently hammered by
a strong wave of repression). You can find more information about some of
these other cases at

http://karcelona.revolt.org/

http://presosalacalle.net/
http://www.325collective.com/prisons_juan.html (much of this is in
Spanish, underscoring the need for more translations and
communication)