Category: Prisoner Support

Heartcure has organised an online prisoner letter writing day today and we should all show up for it. All you need is some paper and a pen and some ideas to write to prisoners.

– But why should I write to prisoners? 

Because the prison system is yet another capitalist tool to silence and put away those who do not fit into the standard of productivity that the current system wants to. Because activists are locked up in order to stop them from achieving change. Because solidarity is probably the strongest weapon you possess. 

– What if I don’t know what to write? 

This is a fair concern. As a rule of thumb, don’t write about anything illegal. Don’t talk about the prisoner’s case unless they do so. Don’t assume their innocence or guilt in relation to their case. Do talk about mundane things that are difficult to experience in prison. Going to walk your dog, a walk in the park, seeing sheep relax at a sanctuary… You can also read about them to learn what their interests are and then send articles about those interests. 

– I wrote to a prisoner once but I never received an answer! 

That can happen. There are many reasons, from screws not allowing letters to arrive to the person in prison, to lack of money to send letters, many things could’ve happened. Remember that you don’t write letters for you, but for them. Opening a window to your reality can be the best five minutes for someone inside of prison. 

– But what do you mean when you say “prisons are for burning”? 

We would 100% recommend you to read “What about the rapists”. It is a free zine on prison abolition and restorative justice that might help you understand a lot better why the prison system is broken, useless and should be left in the past. 

– Is there any other way I can help?

Yes! You can donate to prisoner support groups like Project FANG. You can visit the support websites of political prisoners and see if they have a book Wishlist to buy a book for them. You can organise local letter writing events and send a bunch of letters together as well as discuss with your community why prison should be abolished. You can. Visit your nearest prison and organise a noise demo to let people inside know that they are not forgotten. 

The concrete walls, the bars, the thick windows, the razor blade wire, the militarised workers.. They are all part of the same system that profits from criminality. Prisons are full of capitalist enterprises. From communications to cleaning and food, prisons are a business. Capitalist enterprises profit from the justice system deeming someone unfit to be in society.

Prisons are a muzzle for those who dare to speak up. They are a box for those who did not know how to survive within the parameters of capitalist law. They are the punishment for folks with mental health issues. They are one of the main root problems of this society and we should weed it out to build a better world. 

UNTIL EVERY PRISON IS A FUCKING LIBRARY. 

EMPTY ALL CAGES. 

More info: www.unoffensiveanimal.is/prisonner-support

Let’s talk about prisoners because it is really needed and you have some homework to do.

To start with, we want to mention that Walter Bond has been released to prison and is now at a halfway home after a very lengthy prison sentence for arson.

Multiple folks have asked for an update on Peter’s situation. We have talked with his support team, who on advice of the lawyers have recommended to wait before sharing any more information. Once there is an address or a fundraiser we will be sharing it, but for now, we simply have to wait. The support team has created a Facebook page for his prison support specifically and you can follow it over on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/SupportPeterJanssen/

Marius’ appeal to release because of COVID risks was denied on the basis that he has “ties with the ELF”. Send him a letter. Talk to him about nature.

Finally, we need to talk about Eric King. He has been continuously framed in prison by the screws, he has had nazis thrown at him by the administration to beat him up and on the 18th of June, an unknown prison guard kicked the shit out of him in the showers. He needs out of that prison for his own security.

His support team are asking for phone calls to put pressure. You can find the telephone numbers on the linked website. If you are not from the USA, there is something else you can (and should) do. Eric is facing extra 10 years on multiple fabricated cases just because he is an anarchist and an antifascist and the prison guards are fucking nazis. Send some cash to his legal funds. Just a dollar or two, we don’t care. Just send some cash so he can get legal help and a lawyer can ensure he is moved away from the prison he is at before some fascist scumbag kills him or orders some other fascist prisoner to kill him. Do anything and everything you can to help him survive.

All Eric’s support links below:

https://supportericking.org/2020/07/01/call-in-help-needed-urgent/

https://fundrazr.com/e1cKo1

Get on this, visit our prison support page to get information and write letters and please, share and support.

https://www.unoffensiveanimal.is/prisoner-support/

ART BY WWW.BENWILDFLOWER.COM

On the 28th of May the only Dutch slaughterhouse murdering ducks was attacked. Five meat transporting trucks were set alight and destroyed. An incendiary device in the slaughterhouse never caught fire. This action would later be claimed as an ALF action.

The person behind the action had to leave prematurely losing his car keys and abandoning the car at the scene. A week later and after being wanted by the police, he would give himself in.

Today, his name was publicly released. Peter Janssen, known mostly for his work in Vegan Strike Group interrupting bullfighting and in Konijn in Nood investigating rabbit farms and performing open rescues, remains in prison, remanded and accused of “arson with danger for goods” although prosecution is weighing in changing the charge to “arson with danger to people”.

For now there is no public address for letters or an organised support group. As soon as fundraisers are ready and there is more information we will make sure to make it public.

SOLIDARITY IS OUR WEAPON.

UNTIL WE WIN.

After receiving a six month sentence and a fine wrongly accused of assault at a fur farm demo in Falkenberg, Richii appealed the case. The court of appeal did not allow him to be present during the case, excusing themselves on “safety precautions” when in reality they did not want a mass of people showing solidarity outside and the media picking up on a story they are already pretty interested in. The Court of Appeal made the decision to reduce Richii’s sentence by two months, having to serve four months in prison and pay the 30000 SEK (2750EUR) fine.

We will update Richii’s address once there is one to be able to send letters, but for now you can help by sending money to cover the fine. You can use any of this three methods:

Swish: 123 013 42 13
Paypal: [email protected]
Bankgiro: 5310-2174

We’ve just sent 5000SEK as that’s as much money we had in the accounts. It would be amazing if other folks could also donate (even if it is just 10EUR!). Let’s ensure that Richii feels supported and let’s ensure that anyone fighting for a better world knows that we have their back. Donate a few coins and send us a PM via Instagram with a screenshot so we can post it on our stories creating a trail of folks showing solidarity and encouraging more people to do the same. Solidarity is our weapon.

We should mention that we are terribly thankful to everybody that has bought merch and joined patreon or sent some money to PayPal. That’s the only reason we are able to send 4-500 quid to someone that needs it straight away. So to all our supporters, thank you very much.

Now go out and encourage others to donate towards the support fund for Richii! Let’s cover that fine in 24 hours!

UNTIL WE WIN.

UA.

Joseph Dibee was arrested in August 2018 after more than a decade on the run. He is accused of being part of a group that organised arson attacks against earth destroying and animal murdering enterprises. He is accused, for example, of taking part in the arson against the Wild Horse Meat Slaughterhouse in Oregon that would be completely destroyed by fire to never be reopened.

He has been locked up since his capture even tho he has not had a trial yet. In January, Joseph was attacked by a “white-power” piece of shit. His jaw was shattered to bits and he has suffered multiple fractures in the skull. His mouth is wired shut. He is stable, but needless to say that was a very scary and terrible experience.

This comes as no surprise when the FBI has insisted on plastering the media with his full name (Joseph Mahmoud Dibee) alongside “Terrorist”. They have paved the path for Joseph to be continuously attacked in prison because of this. They are utilising any tool (in this case, the spread of anti muslim and Neo nazi philosophy) to make Joseph suffer as much as possible.

His lawyer has insisted to the judge over and over that Joseph is not a risk to society and that he has c hanged his life around, helping build solar and thermal systems in Syria and working as a teacher whilst on the run. The judge did not care and decided to keep Joseph locked up awaiting for trial. We will say it again, he has not even been found guilty and he is supposed to pay the price.

Joseph could do with letter of support and love. No one should be writing anything related to direct action or to his case, but sending letters explaining how the day has been might be a good start for him to feel a little better.

This is the address to send letters:
Joseph Dibee #101799,
Inverness Jail, 11540 N.E.
Inverness Drive,
Portland, OR 97220.

Remember that “Support the ALF” isn’t just a fucking t-shirt.

PRISONS ARE FOR BURNING.

UA.

Donate here: https://www.cotizup.com/nooneisfree

We haven’t shared our arrest support fundraiser for a little while as we did not want to put pressure on anyone with all the capitalist celebrations coming, but we decided to give this one last try in the hope that people might be willing to donate even one or two euros towards the funds.

The arrest support fund was created to help folks who were arrested and or charged during 2019 for many different actions. Some of those actions are public whilst others are not for the safety of the defendants.

Since its creation, we have a few news to share. The Earth First 11 were all either dropped or found not guilty. That means no one will have anything on their record or have to pay any fines for their action inside the coal mine in County Durham. This fundraiser, however, helped some get all the way to the north of the UK for the court hearings. 

The Ramsgate 3 had a plea hearing and are now scheduled for sentencing on the 6h to the 8th of January.  The outcome is most likely a fine, so help covering costs will be very necessary. 

SMASH Speciesism still doesn’t have a specific date for trial as they are waiting on all evidence to be accounted for and accepted, but that is 11 people who might face  serious fines for the slaughterhouse blockade in Kent.

The seven folks who do not want their case to be public yet are still waiting to know more about what is going to happen next, but support is always necessary and needed and their will make their legal status public as and when it makes sense. 

The Dolce & Gabbana Bloody Bunnies will be sentenced next year and the most likely outcome is a fine. Some of them are already having to deal with huge costs for legal help. All just for a theatrical action on the streets of London! 

Finally, a new addition to this year’s arrest support crew is a human charged with multiple accounts of criminal damage towards hunting towers. The prognosis is unknown but the lawyer is talking about anything from a seriously hefty fine to prison sentence, so again support really is needed. 

Normally we get an average of 8-900 reactions per post across all social media. In this case we are asking you TWO favours. The first one is to increase that average to be able to reach more people and fuck about with the algorithm. Like, comment some messages of support towards those who need it and share it absolutely everywhere.

Secondly, we would like everybody to donate. If you are fucked with money that is ok, we do not want to put you in a difficult situation, but if you can spare a euro or two, or maybe five or ten, ANY donation helps towards the goal. 

So please share, comment, donate, show solidarity towards all folks who took action and are now facing consequences and remember it could’ve been any of us.

Never stop fighting.

Solidarity is our weapon.

UA. 

Joseph Mahmoud Dibee was arrested in Cuba whilst boarding a plane towards Russia after being twelve years on the run. The FBI accuses him of multiple accounts of sabotage carried by the ALF and ELF during the 90s. One of the actions he is accused of is the horse meat packing plant that was burnt to ashes twenty-one years ago that would never be open again.

Joseph was visited by the filth in 2005 but there was insufficient proof to arrest him. Four days later he disappeared. In 2006 a judge indicted Dibee and twelve others as part of Operation Backfire, an FBI investigation on ELF and ALF groups. The alleged group, “the family”, is believed to have caused more than $45 million of damage in arson and sabotage actions. None of the actions Dibee is accused of harmed any human or non-human life.

His court date will not take place until 2020.  He is quite bored in the county jail and says the food is terrible.  He feels that inmates are routinely stuck in Columbia to encourage them to take a plea.  Taking a plea to bogus terrorist charges is something he says he will not do.

Please write to:
Joseph Dibee #101799
Columbia County Jail
901 Port Avenue
St. Helens, OR 97051
U.S.A.

He is a fascinating correspondent, having worked on the Syrian Solar Project and been obliged to flee Syria to avoid the war.  He settled in Russia, where he was quite happy.  He had been teaching for the summer in South America when he was nabbed at a Cuban air terminal on his way home to Russia.

Joseph flies a plane and is especially fond of cats.  He was born in Syria and speaks Arabic, English, and Russian.  Because of his high-tech skills, he says he has always been able to find employment.  He was put in the hole at Columbia when the authorities learned from a phone call that he was planning to “sue” his jailers.  Being closely confined at that time ruined a visit from family members in Russia who were planning to fly here to see him.

Sending mail:
All mail is opened and read. Do not include paperclips, staples, glitter or anything extra as this may mean your letter is rejected by the prison. It is not yet confirmed if Joseph is able to receive books.

Please do not discuss anything related to his case, to anything illegal or to any direct actions!

If you want to send letters to other prisoners you can visit www.unoffensiveanimal.is/prisoner-support

We even have a small box where you can write the name of the prisoner and then the letter, we will print it and post it alongside other letters so you don’t have to do anything else but type! Easy right?

If you want to give us a hand with prison support you can join our patreon:

www.patreon.com/animalliberation

Or you can grab yourself some raffle tickets to help in the fundraiser: 

As you know, part of our job is to arrest and prisoner support. This is an update on the cases we’ve been either supporting or keeping an eye on. This is also a solidarity call to action. However you decide to show solidarity is up to you, up to your affinity group and your environment, but we would like to mention a few things that folks have done as part of solidarity actions so you have choices!

Historically we have seen a massive array of ways to show solidarity with folks that are facing legal pressure and the full oppression of the state. From demos outside of prison and courthouses to banner drops, graffiti, sabotages and liberations on their name, there are many actions that one can take alone or in an affinity group.

If anyone decides to take action, please send us photos and reports to [email protected]. 

Earth First! ARRESTEES had their plea hearing a couple of weeks back. Everybody pleaded not guilty and one of the cases was dropped. The rest are facing completely fabricated charges ranging from assault to criminal damage whilst occupying a coal mine in County Durham. They have their own fundraising link that you can find here:
https://www.chuffed.org/project/earth-first-camp-and-arrestee-support?fbclid=IwAR0_1ctniULfocRMPKRUpWtYxpkdREaI_obduGYL_bu9xfEeldmV5_qajlE

Please consider donating to them. The charges might incur in pretty hefty fines, but just the transport from everywhere in the UK to County Durham is incredibly expensive.

The three arrestees in Ramsgate Live Exports have their court dates set; 31st of October and 1st of November. We are asking everybody able to support to meet in Margate Magistrates Court those days and make noise, but if people are too far away, remember that any other form of action is also a positive step to showing your solidarity towards your comrades.

SMASH Speciesism faced the plea date a few days ago. Everybody pleaded not guilty, The trial date has not been set, but during the plea about 20 people showed up to express solidarity. The court could not believe how many people were there, just for one case. It was a wonderful experience. 

The McDonald’s case ended up with a Guilty verdict and a hefty fine as well as community service for the comrade sentenced. Some of the funds raised will be used for that fine.

We now have a total of SEVEN comrades that are also in need of support but that do not wish to share the case online or publicise it in any way as the case could be compromised and they could be facing serious charges. That does not make them any less worthy of our love and rage, so if folks want to take action in solidarity with them, we will call them the Silent Seven.

We’ve not stared our arrestee fundraising link for a while so we think it is a good time to do so. Please, if you have any disposable income, send some coins and help out. Certainly sharing this and telling the stories also help, and doing ANY KIND of solidarity action is a great way of sending love. Donate some coins here:

https://www.cotizup.com/nooneisfree

SOLIDARITY IS OUR WEAPON 

NI CULPABLES, NI INOCENTES. ENEMIGOS SIMPLEMENTE! 

Matthias has been referred to the Geneva Police Court and a trial is expected by December this year.

He has been locked up in preventative prison for over 300 days, accused of stoning butcher, fast food and fur shops and the occupation of a slaughterhouse as well as causing damage to another.

He has faced police surveillance outside of any warrant and multiple human rights violations.

There have been multiple calls to action for both above and under ground shows of solidarity.

Help with legal fees is VERY much needed and as always please write to prisoners!

You can find the fundraiser on @solidaritywithourcomrades or via this link https://www.cotizup.com/cagnotteantirepression

Love, rage and fucking always solidarity.