Update from the trial of the antifascist centre Distomo

 

On October 12th, the antifascist centre Distomo was tried for its intervention at the office of the Golden Dawn, near Larissis station, that took place in January 2015. The fact that the members of Distomo and other antifascists that took part in the intervention were found not-guilty, constitutes a victory of the militant antifascist movement. After 3 consecutive absences of Golden Dawn witnesses we “gladly”witnessed their presence inside the courtroom.

The hearing started with the clashes between antifascists and the Y.M.E.T squad which had the task of private security for the parastate gunman Perrakis inside the court, during his testimony. During his testimony the squad had raised its shield against the defendants and their supporters who showed up in solidarity, creating a protective wall in front of him.
During his exit he was again escorted while the people threw coffee and spat on him. During the effort of the police to guard Perrakis a riotcop pushed down a comrade and an elderly person who fell down from 1,5 metre height causing him head injuries and a broken arm. In the meantime we managed to achieve that the trial would continue without the presence of Y.M.E.T. and the riot police, the second round of testimonies began.

That’s when Panayotis Rakovitis and Demetris Tzavellas were humiliated by the antifascists. They were so afraid they kept contradicting themselves. After their testimonies they tried, unsuccessfully, to leave unscathed through the crowd.
Then spoke the owner of the building where the office of the Golden Dawn is housed, who, pressurized by the climate in the court room and the defeats the party has had through the years, said openly that he wishes for the closure of the office. As AntifascistCentre Distomo we openly defended the choice not to leave any space for fascists and the possibility every antifascist has, to be outside the Golden Dawn office at any time.
We carried this understanding in action inside the courtroom by reversing the role of defendants into accusers.
Antifascist unity is the only way toward a toward a militant and physical attack against fascism.