Appello della INTERNATIONAL WORKERS ASSOCIATION (AIT-IWA)
About the case:
On Saturday, Sept. 4, five (*) political activists were arrested in Belgrade on trumped up charges. The five, Tadej Kurepa, Ivan Vulović, Sanja Dojkić, Ratibor Trivunac and Nikola Mitrovic, are activists in or associates of the Anarcho-Syndicalist Initiative, the Serbian section of the International Workers’ Association (IWA). (* The sixth person sought by police, Ivan Savic, was also arrested some days later.)
The arrests are allegedly related to a direct action which took place at the Greek Embassy on Aug. 25. Negligible damage was done; a crack in one window, a tiny burn mark on the facade and a circled A graffiti on the embassy as a act of symbolic solidarity with Thodoros Iliopoulos. The prosecutor however imagines this as an act of “international terrorism” and would like to charge our comrades with such.
If the state allows such charges to be pressed, they could be facing 3-15 years in prison.
As it is, the five were arrested, harrassed and are to be held in custody for at least one month while the case is organized.
Although one of the accused, General Secretary of the IWA Ratibor Trivunac clearly and publically declared that he knew nothing of the action, he was arrested. It is not the first time that authorities have come after him or his comrades for no other reason than the fact that they are radical critics of the state.
We are calling on people around the world to take action now!
If you can organize a protest at a Serbian Embassy, Consulate or other Diplomatic Mission, please do so ASAP. Rather than one day of action, we think actions can be spread out over a few days, but we think it’s best not to wait! Try to make an action by Sept. 15-16.
Also, send faxes and protest letters! We are including a list of addresses on this page. If you like, you can also send a letter to the government through this page. You can write your own text or use out sample text. Our page can keep a log of signatorees so we may pass them on to the comrades in Serbia so they know which organizations and people have sent protests.
Please send us information about your demos, protests or articles on the case!
FREE THE FIVE NOW!
ADDRESSES OF DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS OF THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA:
http://www.mfa.gov.rs/Worldframe.htm
Send a protest here
