[Imc-communication] About the Criminalization, no only...

[xaba at riseup.net]

Hello.

Anna and others.

I think a lot of people already know, but reforcing, I would like to alert
that this is the new global politics to combat social moviments and/or
activists...

Long of the history, it was looked repression and persecution frictioning
the people how sorcerers, heretics, comunists and, actualy, terrorists...

Here, in South America, a lot of governments are being
pressureds to aprove stupid laws dictated for the G8, imperalists
countries, etc...

Actualy in Paraguay, for example, the "chamber of members of the house of
representatives" is trying aprove ridiculous laws that criminalize public
manifastations, frictioning how "terrorits acts"... and everything managed
by USA, using structure of CIA, FBI, etc (everybody knows it there, it's
not a secret)...

We are beeing fucked here. The indias are dying on the streets, the people
don't have food, minimal conditions of health and life...

"Hey, I don´t have a HDV camera guys, we don´t live in one imperalist
country, with high life quality, we don´t think immediately at a better
world, first of all, we are trying to survive, all the time... its ideas
no has felt here..."

I invite everybody to question your governments about, no only, this
global politics to combat social moviments and/or activists: ¿terrorists?
and, too,  why we are continuing fucking the "undeveloped" countries?

And Why? Our florests, our cultures, our people are being destroyeds to
produce white paper, soy (everything exportated for cattle's food - the
meet that you eat...), and others basic/primary products for the "rich
market"/"rich countries".

¡it is enough! ¡it is enough! ¡it is enough!

Anna, I'm apologing the case and I'm forwarding the message for others
e-mail lists...

SOCIAL MOVIMENTS, UNIVERSITIES, ETC, PLEASE, HELP!

And sorry for my english, I was obliged to "learn"...

In solidarity.

Hubs, luck and hope.

xaba


Date: Mon, 20 Aug 2007 16:58:07 +0200
From: anna at mail.nadir.org
Subject: [Imc-communication] Criminalization of critical academic research
       and political engagement
To: imc-communication at lists.indymedia.org
Message-ID: <20070820165807.81pkv8dxpelcg4oc at webmail.nadir.org>
Content-Type: text/plain;        charset=ISO-8859-1

On July 31 my home was raided by German federal police and my partner Andrej
Holm was arrested. Our children had to endure a dozen armed cops waking
them, and us. Andrej is in prison in Berlin-Moabit since. There are a
number of initiatives protesting against this, including two open letters
to the federal prosecutor by critical researchers. I'm still not able to
write a lot, but there is information available, most of it on the website
of a group trying to support all who are concerned:
http://einstellung.so36.net/en for english, and a littel in french here
http://einstellung.so36.net/fr

A summary: Three people were arrested while alledgedly trying to set fire to
four army vehicles. Four other people are assumed to be members of a
terrorist organisation called 'militant group' and were observed since
last September at least - Andrej being one of them (this included tapping
of phones also of family members and friends, email observation of
everybody close etc etc). Since he met one of the other three twice this
year in so-called conspiratory cirsumstances all seven are now suspected
to be 'terrorists' - even though it is unclear why they met and what was
talked about. Current state is that the three who are said to have set
fire to the army vehicles and Andrej are imprisoned. The reasons given by
the federal prosecutor why Andrej and the three others are suspected to be
'terrorists' are extremely incredible: researching gentrification, access
to libraries and intellectual ability are explicitely mentioned as reasons
in the arrest warrant. Their treatment in prison is considered similar to
treatment of members of RAF in the dark ages of the 70s, according to the
lawyers.

The open letters have already been signed by many international and German
academics and activists. I'll paste the text below. Please consider signing
and/or raising public awareness in any possible way. A new lawyer's decision
about the continuation of imprisonment is expected for August 24th, so
anything that raises attention before that date may be helpful.

Anna

I'm at the moment away from computers most of the time. You can contact
einstellung[at]so36.net for more information. There will be an English
language newsletter list soon.

==============

http://einstellung.so36.net/en/openletter


Open letter to the Generalbundesanwaltschaft against the criminalization of
critical academic research and political engagement

On 31st July 2007 the flats and workplaces of Dr. Andrej Holm and Dr.
Matthias B., as well as of two other persons, were searched by the police.
Dr. Andrej Holm was arrested, flown by helicopter to the German Federal
Court in Karlsruhe and brought before the custodial judge. Since then he
has been held in pretrial confinement in a Berlin jail. All four people
have been charged with ?membership in a terrorist association according to
? 129a StGB? (German Penal Code, section 7 on ?Crimes against Public
Order?). They are alleged to be members of a so-called ?militante gruppe?
(mg). The text of the search warrant revealed that preliminary proceedings
against these four people have been going on since September 2006 and that
the four had since been under constant surveillance.

A few hours before the house searches, Florian L., Oliver R. und Axel H.
were arrested in the Brandenburg region and accused of attempted arson on
four vehicles of the German Federal Army. Andrej Holm is alleged to have
met one of these three persons on two occasions in the first half of 2007
in supposedly ?conspiratorial circumstances?.

The Federal Prosecutor (Bundesanwaltschaft) therefore assumes that the four
above mentioned persons as well as the three individuals arrested in
Brandenburg are members of a ?militant group,? and is thus investigating all
seven on account of suspected ?membership in a terrorist association?
according to ?129a StGB. According to the arrest warrant against Andrej
Holm, the charge made against the above mentioned four individuals is
presently justified on the following grounds, in the order that the
federal prosecutor has listed them:

- Dr. Matthias B. is alleged to have used, in his academic publications,
?phrases and key words? which are also used by the ?militante gruppe?;

- As political scientist holding a PhD, Matthias B. is seen to be
intellectually capable to ?author the sophisticated texts of the
?militante gruppe? (mg)?. Additionally, ?as employee in a research
institute he has access to libraries which he can use inconspicuously in
order to do the research necessary to the drafting of texts of the
?militante gruppe??;

- Another accused individual is said to have met with suspects in a
conspiratorial manner: ?meetings were regularly arranged without, however,
mentioning place, time and content of the meetings?; furthermore, he is
said to have been active in the ?extreme left-wing scene?;

- In the case of a third accused individual, an address book was found which
included the names and addresses of the other three accused;

- Dr. Andrej H., who works as urban sociologist, is claimed to have close
contacts with all three individuals who have been charged but still remain
free;

- Dr. Andrej H. is alleged to have been active in the ?resistance mounted
by the extreme left-wing scene against the World Economic Summit of 2007
in
Heiligendamm?;

- The fact that he ? allegedly intentionally -- did not take his mobile
phone with him to a meeting is considered as ?conspiratorial behavior?.

Andrej H., as well as Florian L., Oliver R. und Axel H., are detained
since 1st August 2007 in Berlin-Moabit under very strict conditions: they
are locked in solitary confinement 23 hours a day and are allowed only one
hour of courtyard walk. Visits are limited to a total of half an hour
every two weeks. Contacts, including contacts with lawyers, are allowed
only through separation panes, including contact with their lawyers. The
mail of the defense is checked.

The charges described in the arrest warrants reveal a construct based on
very dubious reasoning by analogy. The reasoning involves four basic
hypotheses, none of which the Federal High Court could substantiate with
any concrete evidence, but through their combination they are to leave the
impression of a ?terrorist association?. The social scientists, because of
their academic research activity, their intellectual capacities and their
access to libraries, are said to be the brains of the alleged ?terrorist
organization?.

For, according to the Federal prosecutor, an association called ?militante
gruppe? is said to use the same concepts as the accused social scientists.
As evidence for this reasoning, the concept of ?gentrification? is named -
one of the key research themes of Andrej Holm und Matthias B. in past
years, about which they have published internationally. They have not
limited their research findings to an ivory tower, but have made their
expertise available to citizens? initiatives and tenants? organizations.
This is how critical social scientists are constructed as intellectual
gang leaders.

Since Andrej Holm has friends, relatives and colleagues, they now also are
suspect to be ?terrorists?, because they know Andrej. Another accused
individual was blamed for having the names of Andrej Holm and of two others
charged (but not jailed) in his address book. Since the latter are also
deemed to be ?terrorists? ? this is how ?guilt by association? is
established.

Paragraph ? 129a, introduced in Germany in 1976, makes it possible for our
colleagues to be criminalized as ?terrorists?. This is how, through ?
129a, the existence of a ?terrorist group? is claimed.

Through these constructs, every academic research activity and political
work is presented as potentially criminal ? in particular when politically
engaged colleagues who intervene in social struggles are concerned. This
is how critical research, in particular research linked with political
engagement, is turned into ideological ring leadership and ?terrorism?.

We demand that the Federal Prosecutor (Bundesanwaltschaft) immediately
suspend the ? 129a-proceedings against all parties concerned and to
release Andrej Holm and the other imprisoned from jail at once. We
strongly reject the outrageous accusation that the academic research
activities and the political engagement of Andrej Holm are to be viewed as
complicity in an alleged ?terrorist association?. No arrest warrant can be
deduced from the academic research and political work of Andrej Holm. The
Federal Prosecutor, through applying Article ? 129, is threatening the
freedom of research and teaching as well as social-political engagement.

Initial signatures by:

Dr. Manuel Aalbers (Columbia University, New York), Prof. Dr. Rowland
Atkinson (University of Tasmania, Australien), Prof. Dr. Lawrence D. Berg
(Canada Research Chair in Human Rights, Diversity & Identity, University
of British Columbia), Prof. Dr. Neil Brenner (New York University,
Sociology), Prof. Dr. Craig Calhoun (President, Social Science Research
Council, and University Professor, Sociology, NYU), Prof. Dr. Mike Davis
(Prof. of Urban History, Irvine/USA), Dr. Michael Dear (Professor of
Geography at the University of Southern California/Los Angeles), Prof. Dr.
Michael Edwards (The Bartlett Centre for Architecture and Planning, UCL,
London), Prof. Dr. Geoff Ely (University of Michigan, Karl Pohrt
Distinguished University Professor), Prof. Dr. John Friedmann (University
of California, Los Angeles), Prof. Dr. Herbert Gans (Columbia University,
New York), Prof. Dr. Alan Harding (University of Salford, UK), Prof. Dr.
Michael Harloe (University of Salford, Vice-President), Prof. Dr. David
Harvey (Distinguished Professor of Anthropology, Graduate Center of the
City University of New York, New York), Prof. Dr. Andreas Huyssen (Villard
Professor of German and Comparative Literature at Columbia University),
Prof. Dr. Martin Jay (Sidney Hellman Ehrman Professor of History,
University of California Berkeley), Prof. Dr. Bob Jessop (Lancaster
Universtiy), Prof. Dr. Roger Keil (York University, Toronto, Canada),
Prof. Dr. Rianne Mahon (Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada), Prof. Dr.
Peter Marcuse (Columbia University, New York), Prof. Dr. Margit Mayer
(Freie Universit?t Berlin), Prof. Dr. Frances Fox Piven (President of the
American Sociological Association, Distinguished Professor of Political
Science and Sociology, City University New York), Prof. Dr. Andrew Ross
(New York University, New York), Prof. Dr. Saskia Sassen (Columbia
University, New York, and London School of Economics) Prof. Dr. Andrew
Sayer (Lancaster University, Sociology), Prof. Dr. Richard Sennett
(Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics, Bemis Professor
of Social Sciences at MIT, Professor of the Humanities at New York
University), Prof. Dr. William Sewell (The Frank P. Hixon Distinguished
Service Professor of Political Science and History Emeritus, University of
Chicago), Prof. Dr. Neil Smith (Distinguished Professor of Anthropology
and Geography, Director of the Center for Place Culture and Politics,
Graduate Center of the City University of New York), Prof. Dr. Michael
Storper (Centennial Professor of Economic Geography, London School of
Economics, and Professor of Economic Sociology, Science Po, Paris), Prof.
Dr. Erik Swyngedouw (University of Manchester, UK), , Prof. Dr. Peter J.
Taylor (Loughborough University, UK), Prof. Dr. John Urry (Lancaster
University, Sociology), Dr. Jennifer Wolch (Professor of Geography at the
University of Southern California/Los Angeles).

Sihn here:
http://www.policing-crowds.org/petition.html

==========================


http://www.freeandrej.net.ms/

To Monika Harms
Federal Prosecutor of the Federal Court of Justice

Brauerstra?e 30

76135 Karlsruhe

On August 1, 2007, the socially committed Berlin sociologist, Dr. Andrej
H., was detained upon the order of the office of the federal prosecutor.
The order followed a police search of his residence and the residences of
three other academics. All three are suspected of being members of an
organization called "militante gruppe" ("militant group"/mg), which is
being investigated by the federal prosecutor's office in accordance with
?129a StGB on suspicion of the formation of a terrorist association. The
arrest warrant issued for Dr. Andrej H. is justified by two
"conspiratorial? meetings he is said to have had several months ago with
an individual taken custody during an arson attempt on federal armed
forces vehicles in "Brandenburg an der Havel" in late July.

We strictly oppose the use of violence as endorsed and practiced by the
"militant group." At the same time, however, we strongly object to the
notion of intellectual complicity adopted by the federal prosecutor's
office in its investigation. According to Dr. Andrej H.'s legal
representative, accusations concerning his membership in a terrorist
organization have been made on the following grounds:

- the office of the federal prosecutor possesses no information concerning
the nature of Dr. Andrej H.'s meeting with the suspected arsonists; their
suspected participation in the "militant group" is based on the fact of
the meetings alone;

- according to the federal prosecutor's office, Dr. Andrej H.'s
involvement in the terrorist group can be deduced from his intellectual
engagement in subjects broached in the writings of the "mg"; a 1998
publication of Dr. Andrej H. contained various "key words and phrases"
also found in the texts of the "militant group" (including, for example,
the term "gentrification" widely used in urban sociology),

- the suspect, with a doctoral degree in political science and, ?as an
employee of a research institute, had access to libraries where he could
inconspicuously do the research required for the founding of a militant
group".

Such arguments allow any piece of academic writing to be potentially
incriminating. The rationale followed by the federal prosecutor's office
is a direct threat to all those who pursue and publicly defend critical
studies in the sciences, humanities, arts, and media. Critical research,
even in
combination with social and political activism, cannot be labeled terrorist
activity.

We hereby petition the office of the federal prosecutor to drop the charge
that Dr. Andrej H.'s academic writings constituted intellectual
participation in a terrorist organization. Nothing in Dr. Andrej H.'s
scholarly work justifies an arrest warrant. This line of reasoning
represents a fundamental threat to intellectual and academic freedom.

Likewise, we hereby petition for an immediate cease in the investigation
of Dr. Andrej H. in accordance with ? 129a StGB, which calls for an
especially harsh detention and restrictions in legal defense.

August 9, 2007

Sign here:
http://www.gatdesign.de/andrej/petitionlist_e.php