After leaving Russian FSB detention, left activist is returned to sea by Sapporo authorities

Sapporo-Otaru. 10.03.08 – 13:00 GMT: The German left activist Dr. Martin
Kraemer has been refused landing in the port of Sapporo-Otaru. He has
been condemned by Japanese authorities to remain stay put on the Panama
vessel BM-2, which had brought him from Sakhalin on Friday, 7th of
March. “Just released from special confinement by the Russian political
police FSB, it’s now the Japanese repressive forces who try to top them.

“In Russia, I got kicked and received an official death threat in
custody, but this is worse,” says Martin: “Today’s blow against Japanese
dignity set in before I could even open my mouth in this splendid
country.” The surprising decision by Japanese immigration officers was
announced today after receiving central instructions at 16:00 o’clock
local time (8:00 GMT). At that time, Dr. Kraemer had already spent 66
hours waiting in the port of Otaru to get landing permission.

[Media G8way | Gipfelsoli Infogroup]

Press Release

Monday, 29th October 2007

• Those charged face compensation claims for Genoa’s “image loss”
• Solidarity demonstrations in Genoa and Rostock

Six years after the G8 summit protests in Genoa a number of court cases
against demonstrators and members of the police force are still taking
place. The cases against police officers and Carabinieri are being
stalled in order to take advantage of the statute of limitation that
will soon expire. In the cases against the 25 activists the state
prosecuters Canepa and Canciani are displaying full force. There have
never been such high sentence demands for street clashes.

The witnesses have all been heard. In its plea the state prosecution is
demanding jail sentences between 6 and 16 years, a total of 225 years.
With these convictions they intend to write history: “Let’s call Genoa
what it was: looting and destruction”. Last week the Government in Rome
ordered compensation claims against the 25 charged. These claims total
2.6 million Euros for the property damage that occurred, for example at
the Marassi prison. Included in this is a large sum intended as
compensation for the image loss the city of Genoa is said to have suffered.

“Genoa was a revolt. The 25 charged stand for all of the 300 000 people
in the streets of Genoa. In all the diversity, there was one common
goal: to delegitimise the G8 and the Red Zone”, Hanne Jobst of the
Gipfelsoli Infogroup stated.

Coalition for the Immediate End to the § 129a Proceedings

• Lawyers demand an end to the §129a proceedings

Yesterday the German Federal Court announced its decision in the case of
Berlin-based Andrej H. The Court has decided that at no point there was
any immediate suspicion that would have necessitated his detainment. The
arrest warrant against the activist and researcher was unlawful from the
beginning and has thus been overturned.

“We welcome this decision. Particularly because with this decision the
Federal Court confirms that the conclusions of the Federal Prosecution
were purely speculative and exaggerated,” Christina Clemm, Andrej’s
legal representative said. “The various violations of my client’s basic
rights that have occurred in the last months are therefore unlawful. The
next step is to close the case.”

Berlin, 22nd October 2007

Press Release

Coalition launches international competition
No terror before four — or: what exactly is an after-work terrorist?

The Federal Prosecution is after it. The red-green coalition is trying to
redefine it. The Federal Court has to evaluate it and our friends are to be
charged because of it.

The phantom called “terrorism”
The German criminal legislation paragraph 129a enables the prosecution of
terrorist activity or membership in a terrorist organisation, but even the
highest judges of Germany are not quite sure what terrorism actually is. The
Federal Minister for Justice doesn’t think that 9/11 was terrorism, but
everyone’s scared of it. German criminal legislation, the UN and also the EU
have no clear definition of the term “terrorism”. We’re now asking: What
exactly is terrorism? Who is a terrorist? And what’s a terrorist act?

Press Release

Berlin, 15th October

• Appeal lodged against the continued custodial remand of Axel H., Oliver R. and
  Florian L.
• Federal Court to take no decisions before 18th October

The German Federal Court of Justice has yet again postponed its deadline for
deciding on the Federal Prosecution?s appeal against the release of Andrej H.
on bail. “We cannot expect a decision before October 18th”, commented
Cristina Clemm who is legally representing Andrej H.

The Court has announced it will make a categorical decision with respect to the
current case against the “mg” (militant group). In light of this, the
lawyers of three further accused, Axel H., Oliver R. and Florian L., have now
lodged an appeal against the continued custodial remand of their clients.

[Infotour Working Group | Gipfelsoli Infogroup]

Press Release
Saturday 6th October 2007

• Infotour in Japan, Korea, Singapore, Philippines, Taiwan and Hong Kong

This week, activists from the “Infotour Working Group” embarked on their trip to
Asia. A number of meetings and events are planned to foster closer contact
between the Anti-G8 protest movements in Asia and Europe. At the beginning of
July 2008 the G8 summit will take place in Hokkaido. In Japan, a coalition of
counter-globalisation, anarchist and ecological groups are preparing protests
and actions. Also in Europe there are calls for resistance to the summit.

The “Infotour Working Group” of the radical left “Dissent network” organised
hundreds of information events in Europe in preparation for the 2007 G8 summit.
These mobilisations contributed to the broad protest movement in Heiligendamm.

Coalition for the Immediate End to the §129a Proceedings

Press Release
Berlin, 30th August 2007

Sociologist Remains Free. Federal Prosecution postpones decision to revoke temporary release

Yesterday afternoon the Third Criminal Division of the Federal Court of
Justice declared that the decision over the appeal against Andrej H.‘s
temporary release from custody has been postponed until October.
According to the judge there are outstanding legal questions as to
whether the anti-terrorist legislation, the “§129a”, can even be applied
to this case at all. The lawyers acting on behalf of Florian L., Oliver
R. and Axel H. believe that this discussion over the premises of the
charges will also have an effect on their clients’ situation.

Coalition for the immediate end to the §129a proceedings

Press Release 24 August

The persons charged in the §129a (anti-terrorism) proceedings were severely
beaten during their arrest and are being treated like Guantanamo prisoners.
Special detention conditions at Berlin’s Moabit prison involve solitary
confinement.

On 31/07/2007 Oliver R., Axel H. and Florian L. were arrested after
allegedly attempting to set fire to three German Army vehicles. Only now
it has transpired that they experienced severe assaults during the
arrest. The accused are still being detained in extreme conditions.

Media G8way | Gipfelsoli Infogroup

Press Release for Immediate Release
Thursday, August 9th 2007

• Mapping the history of the G8 resistance

Anti G8 protesters from Germany and abroad have released an “Action Map” of the protests and actions against the G8 that took place in Germany at the beginning of June this year.

Different groups have been adding to the map that collates the massive and diverse protests, direct actions, blockades and other events that took place during the week of action against the G8 and the politics they represent. The map contains different icons that indicate where and what kind of action occured. The individual icons are linked to texts, films or pictures about the actions.

JULY 28, 2007 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media contact in Siberia: +79 246212465

RUSSIA – Police and state officials have repeatedly denied that
organised Neo-Nazi structures are behind the attack last week on a
enviromental protest camp in Siberia leaving several heavily injured
victims and one dead.

In the morning of the 21st of July approximately 15-20 young men in
camouflage clothing with short-cut hair and white arm bands attacked the
protest camp and beat up the 20 campers with iron bars and other
weapons, as the organisers of the camp published later that day. Ilya
Borodaenko, aged 21, from Nachodka died from craniocerebral trauma in a
hospital after suffering a head-fracture during the attack. Of the nine
other campers who were seriously injured, at least one had both legs
broken and all together five were put in the hospital with serious
conditions. Two still remain.

According to victims of the assault, police have repeatedly denied the
existence of any organized neo-fascist groups in the area or a political
background of the attack, despite obvious signs to the contrary. Victims
account of hearing the assailants “spitefully swearing” about the
Russian anti-fascist movement while they beat the campers. According to
eye-witnesses, authorities have attempted to cover up the far-right
ideology behind the attack. In their written statement victims decry the
”pressing requests of the representatives of the police and the Office
of Public Prosecutor to participants of the camp not to make a scandal
and to avoid any communication with journalists.” This follows a trend
in recent years where police and the government mislabel such attacks
and neo-nazi murders as merely “hooligan attacks” in an effort to
downplay right-wing extremist political violence.

14th June 2007

Contacts:

• Emergency legal service: +49 1577/ 470 4760 and +49 163/ 619 5151

In the days after the G8 protests more and more details of police assaults on
demonstrators are being made public. As victims describe their experiences on
internet portals, it is becoming apparent that police massively assaulted,
insulted, beat and abused people.

Lawyers confirm that many times arrests were brutally carried out. Police
refused to tend to injured demonstrators. Instead many of them were brought
directly to mass detention centres.

A group of cyclists were attacked on their way back to the Reddelich camp on
June 2nd. In a dangerous maneuvre, 30 cyclists were stopped on the B105. They
were beaten and pepper-sprayed out of still moving police vans.

At the migration-themed demonstration on June 4th, demonstrators were threatened
by the police. “We will take revenge for Saturday if you continue to demonstrate
here”, “Do you want to die?”, “Go, or you won’t see the day out!” The
demonstration had been officially registered and proceeded without disturbances
on the side of the demonstrators. Police units repeatedly tried to provoke
participants. Repeatedly pepper spray was used unannounced. That afternoon,
“Kavala” made false claims that stones and bottles had been thrown. However,
numerous journalists who were present at the demonstration reported the
opposite.

On June 5th a mother and her toddler were arrested in a shuttle bus on their way
to the demonstration at the military airport Laage. They were absurdly accused
of masking up on the bus. Even the child’s personal details were taken at the
mass detention centre. This abuse only stopped when the child repeatedly turned
its head as police tried to force the child to be photographed.

At the fifth police check point on the way to the airport a demonstrator’s car
was tampered with by the police. All of a sudden the fuel injection pump was
missing and the vehicle would no longer start as the group of demonstrators was
encircled by grinning police officers.

Water canons were often deployed at the blockades with no warning by the police.
Some demonstrators were knocked off their feet from behind by still moving water
canon vehicles. On June 7th the operation at the “West Gate” near Hinter
Bollhagen led to a number of injuries, including a burst ear drum of one
demonstrator. Two activists suffered severe eye injuries and one of them is
still in hospital. Recordings show how the police unit carrying out the
operation laugh as this happens. Eye witnesses report that the police did not
adhere to giving the 3 warnings they are supposed to before deploying water
canons. Merely journalists who were standing around were informed beforehand.
Despite repeated requests, the police did not let medics tend to the injured.
A “nude demonstration” was also attacked with pepper spray. The gas spread over
their whole bodies and led to severe skin irritations.

In the whole of Rostock massive police controls took place. People were taken
into detention for having pen knives, scarfs or even G8 critical literature on
them. During one police check one woman was grabbed in the crotch whilst
officers made leery noises. Also near Wichmannsdorf camp demonstrators were
sexually harassed. On a parking lot near the camp on June 5th, a group of women
had to undress in front of all the police officers present.

During police transportation there were further abuses, as one victim describes.
“The police took off the handcuffs cutting into my hands so that they could take
off my rucksack, threatening to beat me if I moved. To underline their point,
one of the police officers rammed my head against the cell wall. After the
police finally left me and other detainees in the cell, we were told not to
speak or else he would ensure that we “would never be able to speak again”.
“In one case a police unit stormed a tram as it stopped, police beat up everyone
dressed in black and then left the tram again immediately”, the legal
investigation board wrote on June 4th.

Many received injunctions for Rostock and Bad Doberan. Often their papers were
marked with “abstained from appeal” or “lawful hearing accorded”. No
instructions were given in any of these cases.

PRESS RELEASE Tuesday 12th June

A British demonstrator at the G8 summit was badly injured
by German police water cannon on Thursday 7th June. Matt from Liverpool
said he joined the mass protests against the G8 meeting in North Germany
last week ‘to show my abhorrence to the G8 meetings which perpetuate
exploitation, trade injustice and wars. I was one of over a thousand
people at a blockade of the West gate of the police imposed exclusion
zone surrounding the summit venue. The blockade was a peaceful attempt
to hinder access by support staff and delegates to the meetings, using
strictly non-violent means.’

However the festival atmosphere in the sun-drenched fields
was shattered by unprovoked violent assaults by the police against the
protesters. Police used pepper spray, baton charges and water cannons
against peaceful demonstrators; eighteen water cannons were used to fire
high pressure concentrated blasts of water from close range at targeted
individuals faces. I was taken by surprise by a sudden massive blow to
my left eye’ said Matt ‘it felt like my eye had been knocked out of the
socket, the pain was intense. I was blinded for the rest of the day and
my vision will probably be permanently impaired.’

These protests have changed the political world.

The demonstrations against this year’s G8 summit in Heiligendamm,
Northern Germany have been a major success: “We managed to cripple the
summit on the streets from the first day of the summit”, stated Lea
Voigt of the ‘Block-G8’ campaign. Official G8 organizers were forced to
call “Plan B,” Ferrying summit attendees by boat or helicopter, as land
routes were blocked by thousands of summit objectors.

For many people of all ages and backgrounds blockading the G8 their
first encounter with mass protest and direct action, demonstrating not
only their opposition to the inherently unrepresentative summit, but
also their ability to create a better world. More than 18,000 people
overfilled three self-organized protest camps in Rostock,Wichmannsdorf
and Reddilich during the days of the G8 summit, creating a diverse space
where everyone had an equal voice.

Friday, June 8, 2007

Media G8Way – International Press Group

Daily Advisory for the Week of Protest Against G8

The International Rising Tide Network is calling for the 8th of June to
be an International Day of Action Against Climate Change and the G8 .
This is a call for autonomous, decentralized actions in various towns
and cities all over the world, with the aim to support local struggles
against oil refineries, gas pipelines, strip mines and coal-fired power
plants.
Info:
www.risingtide.org.uk and http://risingtidenorthamerica.org.

Now, with the help of the wind, one of the main goals of the anti-G8 activists will be reached. The G8 leaders have been confined inside their own fence. German newspaper Die Zeit has reported that no ships can land at Heiligendamm. With ten thousand protestors currently blocking the two gates into the resort, the heads of state and their baggage are effectively locked in.

“This is a true success,” explains Lotta Kemper from the G8 resistance-based Campinski Press group. “We have denied the legitimacy of the G8 for us and the rest of the world. We said we would use decentralized blockades to surround and blockade them, impede their infrastructure and enclose them within their own fence. This strategy has been successful for the past two days.”

Thursday, June 7, 2007

Media G8Way – International Press Group

Daily Advisory for the Week of Protest Against G8

• Total banned area for the Star March once again expanded
• Heiligendamm officer-in-charge known as violent
• Further interference by the police likely

The Star March coalition registered so-called ‘substitute-events’ on
sunday. This was to safeguard the right to demonstrate should a complete
ban be confirmed by the federal constitutional court.

Yet just a half day later the special police department ‘Kavala’ also
banned these events despite the fact that they were mainly outside the
banned zones I&II. A demonstration in Kuehlingsborn is affected by this,
as is a rally in Boergerende and a march from Bad Doberan through
Steffenshagen to the National Motorway ‘B 105’.

The Kavala have exhausted all possibilities to block the Star March.
It’s registration was initially delayed and invitations to cooperation
talks were rejected. It was only through the administrative court route
that the Kavala had to speed up.

“It is obvious that the police are executing political decisions in that
state visits will not be confronted by dissenting opinion”, summit
opponents criticised.“The duty of a police agency however is to
facilitate assemblies, not to prohibit them”.

English translation of the Reddelich camp statement of june 6th:

“Following the police provocations outside the anti-G8 camp Reddelich early on
Tuesday morning and outside the Rostock anti-G8 camp on Tuesday afternoon, the
spokes council of the Reddelich camp has agreed to the following conduct:
Camp Reddelich will not initiate any one-sided aggression against the police. In the case of a police attack the camp will collectively and resolutely defend itself with the options available to it in order to protect its participants
and its structures.”

Reddelich, June 6th 2007

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

Media G8Way – International Press Group

Daily Advisory for the Week of Protest Against G8

At the beginning of June 2007, the heads of state and government of the
eight largest economic powers will come together for the G8 Summit in
Heiligendamm near Rostock. As an act of civil disobedience, activist
intend to blockade the summit in a clear rejection of the neoliberal
politics of the G8, which dramatically increase the gap between the rich
and poor worldwide.

Rostock-Laage airport, which functions as a civilian and military
airport, is part of the infrastructure of the G8 Summit Conference and
the militaristic policies of the G8 governments. Here the next war is
being prepared with Eurofighter military jets. From here the military
jets will soon fly to the "Bombodrom“ bombing range, and here is where
the participants in the G8 conference plan to fly in. As part of a day
of action against militarism and war, activists will express their
opposition to war and to the G8 through many forms of protest and active
resistance near the airport.

G8/ Star March Heiligendamm

• Heiligendamm officer-in-charge known as violent
• Further interference by the police likely

The Star March coalition registered so-called ‘substitute-events’ o n sunday.
This was to safeguard the right to demonstrate should a complete ban be con firmed by the federal constitutional court.

Yet just a half day later the special police department ‘Kavala’ al so banned these events despite the fact that they were mainly outside the banned zones I&II. A demonstration in Kuehlingsborn is affected by this, as is a rally in Boergerende and a march from Bad Doberan through Steffenshagen to the National Motorway ‘B 105’.

The Kavala have exhausted all possibilities to block the Star March.
It’s registration was initially delayed and invitations to cooperation talks were rejected.
It was only through the administrative court route that the Kavala had to s peed up.

G8/ Star March Heiligendamm

• Heiligendamm officer-in-charge known as violent
• Further interference by the police likely

The Star March coalition registered so-called ‘substitute-events’ on sunday.
This was to safeguard the right to demonstrate should a complete ban be confirmed by the federal constitutional court.

Yet just a half day later the special police department ‘Kavala’ also banned these events despite the fact that they were mainly outside the banned zones I&II. A demonstration in Kuehlingsborn is affected by this, as is a rally in Boergerende and a march from Bad Doberan through Steffenshagen to the National Motorway ‘B 105’.

The Kavala have exhausted all possibilities to block the Star March.
It’s registration was initially delayed and invitations to cooperation talks were rejected.
It was only through the administrative court route that the Kavala had to speed up.

“It is obvious that the police are executing political decisions in that state visits will not be confronted by dissenting opinion”, summit opponents criticised.“The duty of a police agency however is to facilitate assemblies, not to prohibit them”.