G.Kalaitzidis: On the raid in my house and the ongoing pogrom of the past days

  The investigation began at 3pm and ended at 2am, approximately 11 hours or so. A DEE [T/N: criminal investigation HQ] crew came and took DNA samples from everywhere and, of course, fingerprints. Throughout the whole investigation a DELTA squad [T/N: cops on motorbikes] was going up and down the street outside my house.

  I was taken to Athens Police HQ and then to the fingerprint police unit on Kavala street, where I denied to be fingerprinted,      and then to the prosecutor who issued an emergency arrest warrant.  I     was sentenced to 16 months in prison and got a €600 fine over  charges    of  gun possession and false statements. The sentence being payable, the total sum to amount to €10.200.

  Regarding the charges, arm possession concerned a gun I had. The reasons I carried a gun are obvious (even the district attorney seemed to understand this, since he asked the court to acknowledge non petty motive for arm possession).

  First I’ve been targeted by fascists (2 months ago they wrote threatening slogans on my home entrance “Kalaitzidis Grammos Vitsi” [T/N: referring to the battle of Grammos-Vitsi during the Greek civil war where the national troops defeated the communists, winning the civil war]). Furthermore Kasidiaris [T/N: Kasidiaris is member of the parliament with the neo-nazi party] referred to me and another two comrades (some time ago when he was distributing    to journalists in parliament an old text of solidarity written for me    and the two comrades, wanting to show the link between us and  SYRIZA’s   leadership) [T/N: SYRIZA is the party of the opposition, purportedly left]. On the other hand, I’ve been targeted from the drug trafficking mafia of Exarchia since I confront them publicly for the past 3 years. As a matter of fact I reckon absolutely logical and obvious to carry a gun in order to defend myself against this bunch of armed bullies.

  Concerning   the charge of disobedience, there is no reason for the police to have  a  recent photograph of mine, which in some time in the near future I   might see in newspapers’ cover or in some Clouseau’s blog when a new   witch hunt may occur. In my point of view no comrade should ever hand   over fingerprints or photographs. Disobedience has its cost especially   in case of a bail but when the authorities have no fingerprints or photos of you it has a priceless value. So comrades, when in Kavalas str [T/N: the police department in Athens where fingerprins and photos are taken], deny by any means fingerprinting and photos and support your stance politically in court.

  As for the overall pogrom of the past few  days, there have been raids at some comrades’ houses some of which  continue till now. The official justification announced by television  and newspapers is that the raids are taking place in order to put  pressure on the… “network supporting Christodoulos Xiros” and to “prevent an armed attack” during the Greek presidency at the European Union. Excuses such as “special reasons” are always used for repressive plans but all of the prosecuting narrations and symbolisms are part of the broader context as defined by the emergency state and its representatives. In other words Dendias [T/N: minister of repression] and his friends want to finish us off once and for all. The pressure on behalf of Katechaki [T/N: the ministry of repression] against our political space will be augmented geometrically and escalated depending on the ministry’s targeting.

  We, comrades, should manage this pressure in a way that the cost of their acts will be bigger than the expected result..

P.S.1: Actually, in Greece there are no reliable witness protection programs.

P.S.2: With the €4 million a snitch will get s/he may have a royal funeral. With so much money there’s no need to care about expenses.