Solidarity with the Council of Europe Defendants!

On May 16, 2005, a demonstration was held during the Council of Europe Summit in Warsaw. At the end of the Summit, 11 people were arrested on bogus charges by agressive police. The 11 were held overnight in a garage next to a police station. One was beaten and has his faced smashed against a chair, for which he required medical attention upon release. They were charged with, among other things, not following police orders, violating the "untouchability of police" and using bad words. One Indymedia activist was charged with assaulting an officer.

The charges were dropped against the Indymedia activist.

The case has been going on with many irregularities. The judge decided that two people were falsely arrested, but according to idiotic Polish laws, that doesn't been their cases are dismissed. One of the arrested filed a claim against the police for unlawful arrest and violating of her rights, but the proceedings were suspended three times. The police refuse to turn over video evidence to the court, despite the fact that video evidence presented by the defendants contradict what the police said and show the police filming the same events. Despite all this nonsense, the case drags on and on. On a few occasions the defendants, who come from different cities in Poland, have shown up in court only to hear that the proceedings would be postponed. On another occasion, the court changed the room of the hearing and before the defendants who were to be heard that day arrived at the new room, they had been tried in absentia. The verdict was appealed.

One of the arrested, Adam P., an activist from FA Praga, also a long-time activist for native people's rights and former activist from the Solidarity era, decided that the parole regime he was under was too inconvient for him, especially as the charges against him were bogus. It was he who was beaten at the police station and he who showed through video evidence that the police were not telling the truth. A judge decided that he was wrongfully arrested but the charges against him were not dropped. He was required to adhere to a parole regime which included working and reporting to the police station regularly. He decided that he would not tolerate that anymore and decided not to show up for the court circus. A warrant was issued for his arrest. He avoided arrest for months before the New Year he wound up in jail. He has been there ever since.

Adam's next court date is at the end of the month. It is not clear if he will be released from jail since they may consider him a flight risk.

There is also a warrant out for another activist who refused to turn up in court.

The rest have their next court date towards the end of February.

Last night a billboard appeared in Warsaw in remembrance of the arrested. It reads:
STATE VIOLENCE CANNOT KILL OUR DREAMS. Solidarity with the repressed from the Council of Europe Summit in 2005.