Category: Prisoner Support

Smash Speciesism is a civil disobedience and direct action group in the UK. Earlier in the year we published about their NOT GUILTY verdict in their case for the Forge Farm Meats slaughterhouse blockade, which stopped the murder for almost the whole day and -as an unexpected win – took the climbing police resources away from evicting protestors who were blockading an arms factory known to sell weapons used to murder Palestinians. During their court case, the judge accepted that the blockade was justified due to the abuse and malpractice by Forge Farm Meats.

During the T&S Campaign, Smash Speciesism blockaded Phil Kerry’s quarry, raising alarm bells about the fact that major trades providers were making dealings with an animal abuser. That action would be the last nail in the coffin after a well thought out campaign by Shut Down T&S and Phil Kerry would announce his imminent retirement from rabbit fur farming. The two activists that blockaded the quarry would have their charges dropped as the cops had once again acted illegally and CPS was unable to build a case.

The group doesn’t shy away from even more disruptive actions. Last year they disrupted the Royal Vet vivisection awards, where alarms attached to helium balloons were set off, people booed and shouted at the speakers and ultimately someone would set off the fire alarm off, forcing the whole university compound to evacuate and the awards event to be cancelled. No activist was arrested as a result of that action.

They also organised another slaughterhouse blockade in 2020 at the gates of Tulip LTD in Manchester. Multiple lock ons and D-locks were deployed and no pigs were killed for the whole day. Last week, a judge acquitted all activists, effectively giving Smash Speciesism yet another win against the speciesist machine.

Whatever is next for Smash Speciesism, we would like to congratulate the activists and celebrate their wins once again. Disruptive, well thought out actions will topple the machine, and they have proven that multiple times.

You can find Smash Speciesism here:

IG: @Smashspeciesism
FB: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100068875545795

UNTIL WE WIN!

VIA: Unicorn Riot. By Ryan Fatica,

Joseph Mahmoud Dibee, a 54-year-old environmental activist and former Earth Liberation Front saboteur, was sentenced to time served today after pleading guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit arson and one count of arson. Dibee was also ordered to complete 1,000 hours of community service.

Dibee is a former member of an autonomous cell of the Earth Liberation Front and Animal Liberation Front, loose networks of activists who in the late 90s and early 2000s took responsibility for a string of attacks on industries, businesses, and government entities they saw as responsible for the mounting environmental crisis.  

In 2005, in the midst of post-911 anti-terrorism fervor, the FBI rolled out Operation Backfire, which ultimately led to the indictment of nearly 20 people on serious felony charges. Although Dibee was not initially charged in the case, he was subpoenaed to appear before a federal grand jury to testify against another activist. When confronted with the choice of whether or not to cooperate, or ‘snitch,’ Dibee chose to flee to Syria, his family’s country of origin. Shortly thereafter, he was indicted in a sweeping conspiracy case.

In summer 2018, Dibee was captured in José Martí International Airport in Havana, Cuba on his way home from a business trip in Ecuador and was held by Cuban authorities for several days. According to Dibee, he was tortured, threatened with execution, and held without food or water. On August 9, 2018, he was turned over to the FBI and extradited to the United States.

In April 2022, after nearly two years of pre-trial incarceration, Dibee signed a plea agreement admitting to his participation in a conspiracy to commit arson at Cavel West, a meat packing facility in Oregon that was known for slaughtering wild horses, and at a Bureau of Land Management horse facility near Litchfield, California. 

Today, two years and five months after his initial capture, Dibee appeared remotely before Federal Judge Ann Aiken’s court in Eugene, Oregon for sentencing. The prosecution asked the court to sentence Dibee to 87 months in prison, citing the severity of his crimes and his time on the run as reasons for a harsher sentence. Ultimately, Judge Aiken would reject that logic saying that time away from one’s family is always a punishment, whether one is in Syria, Russia, or in prison.

“Syria and Russia were not recreational destinations” at this time, the judge said.

In her lengthy statement, Judge Aiken cited Dibee’s 29 months of pre-trial incarceration, during which he was attacked by a white supremacist and later contracted COVID-19, as well as his years of self-imposed banishment abroad, as reasons for issuing the sentence of time served.

The judge also spoke at length about Dibee’s decades of efforts while he was on the run in Syria, Russia, and Ecuador to use his engineering skills to advance environmental causes.  

Aiken also cited Dibee’s claim that he was tortured by Cuban authorities when he was captured in Havana. Dibee said they left him without water for days and told him that if he didn’t confess, they’d take him on a plane and drop him in the ocean and he would never be found.

“I don’t think an imagination could dream up” such stories, Aiken said.

She initially sentenced Dibee to pay more than $1.3 million in restitution to those entities targeted in his attacks, but decided to table the issue of restitution for a future hearing after Dibee’s attorney objected.

The judge cited Dibee’s lack of financial resources at present, saying he is not likely to be able to pay restitution soon “unless he strikes it rich” by creating a life changing technology, which Judge Aiken admitted “seems possible.”

While on the lam, Dibee taught environmental engineering at a university in Syria, even helping to plan a national project on renewable energy. In Russia, he started a business recycling used fuels into biodiesel. In Ecuador, he agreed to create a technology for ecologically sound gold mining to mitigate the dangers of mercury and other toxins involved in current technologies.

“Frankly, this country needs some of the technologies he’s able to craft,” the judge said.

On the 18th of September the world woke up to the news that Grupo de Respuesta Animal had struck again in Chile, this time against a meat packaging facility that had been set alight. A few weeks later, GRA released a communique explaining their action:

Two days ago we heard the news that chilean police had made four arrests in relation to that arson, claiming that the mobile phones of four people had been pinpointed into that location on the night of the action.

Today, the four comrades faced a judge, who has sent them to prison without possibility of bail whilst the cops investigate the case. They have not been charged and the filth could very easily be making up the evidence they’ve used to convince the judge to lock them up, but their case will be up for review in 70 days and until then they will remain behind bars.

Comrades in Chile have started to organise and donations as well as addresses for letter wirtting will be made public soon. We will publish those promptly after we have been made aware of how you can support.

Ni culpables, ni inocentes. ENEMIGOS SIMPLEMENTE!

Solidarity.

The New York Anarchist Black Cross has published an up to date list of USA political prisoners and USA prisoners of war, alongside their charges and addresses to which you can send letters.

In the list, as well as Earth Liberation folks like Jessica and Marius, there are prisoners locked up for their work on black liberation, anarchist action and anti-police action. Every single one of those people listed was locked up because of their involvement in the fight for a better world. Some of them have been behind bars for decades, and all of them deserve support and solidarity.

We would love for you to have a look at their list, choose a couple of people and write a little something to send them a letter. It doesn’t need to be something very profound, you can talk to them about your day or your favourite place in the world. Describe to them a good walk with a dog companion, your favourite restaurant or that time you almost got caught dumpster diving behind the apple store!

Many folks celebrate the anonymous reports that Unoffensive Animal publishes, but only a small percentage of those will write a letter to a prisoner, who could’ve once upon a time sent one of those anonymous reports! So today is the day, write a letter to someone locked up, help them open a window to the outside! 

If you have a group of friends, why not organise a letter writting evening? Meet up, have some snacks and write letters to multiple prisoners that then you can combine postage for. Makes things extra easy!

Check the NY ABC prisoner list here:
https://nycabc.files.wordpress.com/2022/05/nycabc_polprisonerlisting_latestmay2022.pdf

SOLIDARITY IS OUR BIGGEST WEAPON!

In 2018 on the Greek island of Evia two individuals confronted a hunter as he attempted to murder free-living animals. They took his gun and threw it away, and were later arrested by multiple police officers not far from the scene. They were charged with robbery, which is a felony, despite the motive clearly not being to steal the weapon that was found in the woods.

Since the arrest, both the local and national hunting associations have unsurprisingly taken a great interest in the case. The hunting association of Greece (D’KCSE) has frequently attacked the anti hunting activists in the press and is even paying the legal costs for their prosecution.

The trial is set for this month, 26th of May 2022 and there has been a call for folks to show solidarity “in any way you like”. Since the call for solidarity there have been demonstrations, banner drops and the hunting association of Athens was spray painted.

In the words of the accused, “our attempt to protect an animal from being murdered, was an instinctive move that in our opinion should be the obvious thing for everyone.”

You can find more information here: https://sabfornonhumans.blackblogs.org/en/

Richii is a Swedish activist who has faced the law a few times because of his work fighting for animal liberation. Two years ago, during a demo at a fur farmer’s house in Falkenberg, Richii used the megaphone’s alarm sound. A journalist who was present at the demo claimed that it damaged their hearing (the press has been dealing a lot of low blows against activists in Sweden), and took him to court.

In court, he was trialed for the megaphone sound but also for a trespass action inside the fur farm. He was found guilty and ordered to pay fines, which the Swedish activists managed to raise funds for. Sadly, the fundraiser did not cover the court costs and they are in immediate need of funds to pay for them before the deadline, which is is approaching rapidly. He owes the courts 9000SEK which is about 870 EUR (720 GBP / 910 USD).

If anyone is able to donate it would be highly appreciated. Send Richii and the activists at Djurfront all your love and solidarity and share far and wide so we can all fundraise enough to cover the costs!

The best donation method is PayPal, you can send some coins to: paypal.me/DjurfrontSE

SOLIDARITY IS OUR BIGGEST WEAPON!

Eric was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2014 after a Molotov cocktail attack on a congressional office in Kansas City in solidarity with the Ferguson demonstrations. Since he was served his sentence, guards have conspired with white supremacist prisoners to beat Eric multiple times, and in 2018 Lieutenant Correctional Officer Donald Wilcox took him into a closet, away from cameras, and beat him as part of an “attitude adjustment”. Eric was later charged assaulting a corrections officer.

Throughout last week, his case was heard in court, and the guards told all sorts of lies like a bird had managed to enter the prison and messed up his cell and spilled coffee on his legal documents.

On Thursday, the jury returned a ‘Not Guilty’ verdict after seeing through the lies of the prison officers that had been conspiring to ultimately kill Eric.

Because of this Not Guilty verdict, Eric will be out of prison in December 2023, but until then he really needs to hear as much animal rights and antifascist news as possible. Eric needs to feel the support of his comrades and to know that he is not alone facing the fascist prison officers in the jail.

Please write to Eric and give him lots of love:

Eric King 27090045
FCI Englewood
9595 w Quincy Ave
Littleton co 80123
USA

SOLIDARITY IS OUR BIGGEST WEAPON!

On the 28th of January, nine activists will face a court trial in Le Mans, France. They are accused of criminal damage, the rescue of seven lambs and belonging to a liminal association. Multiple civil parties are involved red with the prosecution including FNSEA (national farmers association), Interveb (interprofessional association for livestock and meat) and Hendrix Genetics (a company specialising in the breeding of livestock that holds twenty-eight million animals in their breeding database).

The activists are facing a range of sentences, from very hefty fines to suspended sentences or even firm prison sentences.

Two of the seven lambs are also facing prosecution, and out of the outcome of the court case, the state is asking for the animals to be given back to the breeder.

Folks are asking for solidarity outside of court, at 9 am in front of the Cité Judiciarie in Le Mans, but they also wish for their story to be told and shared far and wide.

If you cannot show solidarity by being present during court, you can choose to take whatever action you feel makes sense in solidarity with the defendants and the lambs.

They also have a fundraiser to help with legal fees that you can find here: 

https://www.papayoux-solidarite.com/fr/collecte/proces-animal1st

SOLIDARITY!

Folks in the UK have been tirelessly fighting the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, a piece of legislation being pushed through that would drastically impact people’s right to protest legally. The bill gives police increased stop and search powers, it gives prison sentences for ‘locking on’, it criminalises trespass which will greatly affect the Gypsy, NFA, traveller and hunt sabbing community who already experience regular police harassment. It even gives the police the power to give ASBO like orders to protestors, regardless of if they have committed a crime. These orders aim to remove the freedom of speech and assembly of certain individuals and could ban them from seeing people or even sharing stuff online.

Bristol has been at the centre of a lot of resistance to this terrifying bill. On the 21st of March 2021 at a Bristol Kill the Bill demo, just weeks after the arrest, rape and murder of Sarah Everard by a MET police officer, the protest erupted into a clash between protestors and police. The police dressed in full riot gear started hitting protesters round the head with batons and people took action to defend themselves and fight back. A cop shop and police vehicles were also targeted with windows smashed and vans set alight. Many arrests have been made since with some facing serious riot charges.

On Friday 30th of July, five ‘Kill the Bill’ protesters were collectively sentenced to over 14 years in jail. On the 9th of September, one person was sentenced to over 4 months for simply stealing a police officers hat. It is clear the police and courts are doing everything they can to try and repress the uprising against this bill and severely punish those caught fighting back. One person alone was sentenced to 14 years in prison for their part in the protest.

Bristol ABC have a list of ‘Kill the Bill’ prisoners and their addresses so please put pen to paper and send these folks letters,. Let them know they are supported and you are proud of their bravery and resilience in taking a stand and defending themselves and others from the brutality of the police.

Yasmin, another ‘Kill the Bill’ protestor brutally beaten by police and facing prison time for the privilege will be on trial in Bristol Crown Court on Monday 31st of January 2022. There is a call out for court support and a demo will be taking place outside the court starting at 8:30am.

We send our unconditional solidarity and support to all those facing state repression as a result of fighting this oppressive bill.

For more information regarding how to support ‘Kill the Bill’ prisoners check out: https://bristolabc.wordpress.com

They also have a fundraiser for prisoners sentenced as a result of the March ‘Kill the Bill’ protests

https://www.gofundme.com/f/ktb-prisoner-support-fund

Bristol Defendant Solidarity, @BristolDefenda1 on twitter, are offering unconditional support to people arrested at Bristol protests. From legal info to solidarity through arrest & court.

LOVE & RAGE

Porgreg was a farm in Canada set up in the 80s that was able to exploit up to 3500 pigs at any one time. In December 2019, a group of twelve activists decided to occupy the farm, demanding that the conditions of the pigs be publicised. What they found inside was nightmarish. The farrowing crates were littered with dead and decomposing piglets. The fattening pens, swimming pools of shit and piss. Pigs had nowhere to be warm, or dry, and their food simply sunk into the puddle of their waste.

The group of activists occupied the farm for six hours, asking the press to come in and film the conditions of the place. The police did not care and arrested all, charging them with breaking and entering and impeding a police officer.

After the action, the footage obtained was publicly released, causing a huge ripple effect. MAPAQ (the Ministry of Agriculture in Quebec), had never once inspected the Progreg farm in their forty years of existence. They visited the farm just a week after the occupation for the first time since the farm had opened.

Investors lost trust and pulled out. Meanwhile, retailers decided they were no longer going to buy pigs that were reared at the farm.

During the action’s trial in October 2021, which lasted seven days, the farmer explained; “we can no longer profit from farming pigs and had to close down”.

The activists will receive their verdict (and possible sentencing) on the 24th of February. We will make sure to cover what the results are.

SOLIDARITY!