---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Oppose Greek Police Repression < [email protected]> Date: Thu, Jan 13, 2011 at 3:39 AM Subject: Denounce severe Greek police attack on US activist & brutal repression of dissent-please sign To: [email protected] The following statement has already been quickly signed by Noam Chomsky. Please help show that the international community opposes brutal repression of public dissent here in Greece, such as the attack on our American comrade. Please list your faculty and title when signing. *Please sign the following statement to call for an investigation and accountability for the nearly fatal attack on an American writer and activist by Greek police on November 15th, 2010, during a demonstration in Athens, and to urge the Greek authorities to prevent further physical brutality against those expressing dissent during such turbulent times in Greece. To sign the statement on the online petition, go here*: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/opposegreekpolicerepression/ * (Please review the attached PDF for photo evidence of the November 15th Delta police attack and of the gravely injured activist, a mention of the attack in a report from the European Commission for the Prevention of Torture, an article concerning the beating and injuries suffered by a major Greek magazine, accounts from eye-witnesses of the attack, as well as background information on the specific role of the Greek Delta police in political repression.)* We, the undersigned, are faculty, students, lawyers, and journalists from across the United States and Europe who believe that all people of the world should have the rights to express dissenting views and to protest for social change. We have learned that the “ Delta” force in Greece denies protestors those rights through physical brutality against them. We call for a full investigation and accountability for those involved in the latest police violence. On November 15th, 2010, during a demonstration called by labor unions and leftists groups against the entrance of the IMF into Greece, the Delta police nearly fatally attacked a member of the international community-a 105 pound female American writer and activist who was beaten to unconsciousness with a blunt object and then kicked and beaten repeatedly in the head, neck and back, and abdomen. Eyewitnesses report the use of force by multiple officers during a prolonged time in which the demonstrator was already unconscious, laying on the ground and bleeding from the head. Among multiple injuries, including blood hemorrhaging, her skull was fractured and she suffers permanent inner ear damage. This is not the first time that the Delta police have been responsible for brutal attack on demonstrations in Athens- indicative cases of penal charges against the Delta were brought by the group “ Dikaioma” last week for an attempt by the Delta to break up a demonstration by an attack against their block during the general strike on the 15th December 2010.Charges have also been bought by Professor Aggeliki Koutsoumpou, who was seriously injured when Delta police officers rammed her with their motorcycles during a demonstration on the 6th of December 2009. The members of the Delta force are able to act with impunity against demonstrators and are difficult to identify, having no visible numbers or placards on their uniforms. It is a unacceptable that the Greek government, at a heightened moment of crisis and global instability, chooses to turn its police force on legitimate political speech, physically attacking and harassing demonstrators. We, the undersigned, urge a full disclosure of information regarding the identity of the Delta unit responsible for the excessive attack on the night of the 15th of November. The officers who carried out and commanded these actions must be punished, and effective steps must be taken to end the impunity provided to the Delta force and to prevent further brutality. http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/opposegreekpolicerepression/ -- P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net Connect: http://p2pfoundation.ning.com; Discuss: http://listcultures.org/mailman/listinfo/p2presearch_listcultures.org Updates: http://del.icio.us/mbauwens; http://friendfeed.com/mbauwens; http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens Think tank: http://www.asianforesightinstitute.org/index.php/eng/The-AFI