Protest march climaxes struggle for the liberation of imprisoned December

The protest march of Saturday 11/4 marks a climax for the solidarity struggle regarding
imprisoned insurgents of the December uprising in Athens

On Saturday 11/4 noon a big protest march took to the streets of Koridallos, Athens,
towards the central jail of Greece. The march was in protest to the continuing
imprisonment of last December insurgents against who all evidence are little more than
circumstantial. Demanding the immediate release of the prisoners and pledging their
solidarity to all inmates and to the Katerina Goulioni, the prison activist who was
assassinated during her transfer from Crete to the mainland last month, the demonstrators
stood outside the women’s prison wing chanting prison abolition slogans as inmates put
fire on linen hanging them on their cell windows.

The protest march comes in a climax of solidarity struggle to the imprisoned insurgents
of December across the country including protest marches, concerts for economic help
to the imprisoned insurgents and their juridical expenses. On the previous Friday 10/04
three radio stations were occupied in Athens and were forced to broadcast programmes
on December demanding the immediate release of insurgents.

At the same time, on Saturday 12/4 evening protesters attacked and destroyed the offices of ANEK Lines, the colossal passenger boat company on whose boat Katerina Goulioni, the inmate prison-activist was assassinated on 18/3, putting an end to her struggle for the abolition of physical penetrative vaginal inspection in Greek prisons. Her death led to an uprising in the women’s prison of Thebes last month.

Read Full Post »

Greek prisoner activist found dead during prisoner transfer

20 March 2009

Early on Wednesday morning, a Greek prisoner actively engaged in defending prisoners’ rights was found dead. Katerina Goulioni and other prisoners were being transferred on a ferry from Thiva women’s prison in Greece to Neapoli prison on Crete.

It is alleged that, during the transport, she was seated at a distance from other prisoners and that her hands were tied behind her back. Other prisoners are reported to have said that she looked as if she had been hit in the face.

Katerina Goulioni contacted Amnesty International on several occasions to report on the inhuman treatment of prisoners and prison conditions for women, including at Thiva prison, near Athens, and at Diavata prison, Thessaloniki.

She informed Amnesty International that she had lodged complaints with the Greek Ombudsperson, including one in February 2009, and the prison governor of Thiva prison. She also appeared in a television documentary just before her death.

Katerina Goulioni had also been actively involved in Amnesty International’s campaigns by collecting petition signatures from Thiva prisoners. She told members of Amnesty International Greece on 17 March 2009 that the organization’s campaigning materials had recently been removed from her cell together with other human rights documents and that some materials had not been delivered at all.

According to information provided by the Greek Ministry of Justice, Katerina Goulioni died of a heart attack. The official coroner’s report is expected next week.
 
Amnesty International is calling on the Greek authorities to carry out a full, prompt, independent and impartial investigation into the full circumstances of the death of Katerina Goulioni; and into the complaints that she had lodged about the treatment of women prisoners.

Read Full Post »