Tag: Greece anarchists

Greece releases jailed anarchist writer Tasos Theofilou

 Theofilou walks free after five years in jail, but Greek anarchists accuse the government of a crackdown.

 from   Athens, Greece – ………A cloud of tension hovered inside an Athens courtroom as an anxious crowd waited to hear the appeal verdict in the case of 34-year-old Tasos Theofilou, an anarcho-communist and novelist who has been in prison since 2012.

Several police officers suited in riot gear entered the room, while lead judge Ourania Papadaki warned the 200 solidarity activists and supporters who were present to remain calm in advance of Friday’s verdict.

“We find the defendant innocent of all charges,” Papadaki said, prompting tears of joy throughout the crowd.

His supporters chanted in unison: “The passion for freedom is more powerful than any prison cell.”

Three of the five judges ruled in Theofilou’s favour, while the other two voted to uphold his guilty verdict.

In February 2014, Theofilou was first sentenced to 25 years in prison after being found guilty of robbing a bank and killing a taxi driver on the Greek island of Paros in August 2012.

For half a decade, he rejected the charges against him, and many Greek activists considered him a political prisoner due to his involvement in the anarchist movement.

Disbelief was sketched across the faces of Theofilou’s parents, who were sitting in the front row.

“It’s impossible to believe it,” his mother said, smiling and visibly relieved as she hugged a handful of her son’s supporters.

READ MORE: Inside Greece’s resurgent anarchist movement Continue reading “Greece releases jailed anarchist writer Tasos Theofilou”