25 members of the theatre group who were
arrested on July 22nd near Genoa are still to be on remand, in spite of
grotesque accusations. There are several indications of maltreatment but
still no contact was made possible between the arrested and their families.
In an interview with the Austrian TV station ORF the Austrian Foreign
Minister stated her "trust in the Italian administration of justice".
Great Britain and Germany are meanwhile considering law suits against the
Italian justice and police officials.
25
activists of the PublixTheatreCaravan are currently still in Italian prisons.
After a first investigation they were transferred to the status of "prisoners
on remand" on Thursday July 26th 2001. The lawyers issued an appeal
against this because of one-sidedness. If this is not accepted or if a second
investigation (which is to be held within 25 days after the first one)
concludes a positive sentence, then they will face charges within the next 6
months. The theatre activists are accused of vandalism, endangerment of
public safety as well as of membership to a criminal organization which
Italian officials call the "black bloc". The last charge is the
probable cause of the complete contact barrier imposed on them which results
in no contact whatsoever between the arrested and their families.
The lawyers of the arrested actors, playwrights, artists and journalists want a resumption of the first investigation. Also they are demanding the transfer of the female members who are kept separately in Voghera, to Genoa where the men are imprisoned.
The state of health of the imprisoned is
extremely alarming: according to reports of previously released persons and a
report of the Austrian consul in Milan, there are indications of mistreatment
and abuse in the course of the arrest as well as inside the prisons.
It was reported that one person had knocked out teeth and his/her hair was
cut off.
As of now, because of the complete contact barrier it is not possible to get
detailed information on their state of health. People who were released and
allowed to leave Italy -also due to heavy pressure on the Italian government
by their countries' officials -are all reporting devastating conditions
inside the prisons.
Whilst almost all countries have increased pressure on the Italian officials, Austrian Foreign Minister Benita Ferrero-Waldner only stated her "complete confidence in the Italian officials" upon a meeting with her Italian colleague official Ruggiero. Furthermore she added that "pocket knives, clubs and black t-shirts" were found inside the caravan's bus and that some of the arrested were even "known to the police". In such case, said Ferrero-Waldner, one should have to be aware of such consequences, not only in Italy but in any other country in the world
More information on the arrested see no-racism.net, Indymedia Italy, Indymedia Austria and Noborder Network.
. 
VolxTheaterKaravan: Noborder, Nonation, Noprison!
Freedom of movement will be the very big topic in this century.
Crossing borders should not only be a slogan, and since art knows no
borders, it is the perfect vehicle for the journey into public space.
Inspired
by similar projects such as "no
one is illegal", MoneyNations
and documenta 11, and
using the framework of the international noBorder
network, this summer various caravans are touring European places of
cultural and political events which are trying to represent the current
debate on the problems of migration and globalization. We see ourselves as a
specific part of the protest that wants to articulate, to point out the
campaign "noBorder, no one is illegal" at places of political
importance and conflict, using artistic and political means. At the same
time we want to focus on the topics connected to the campaign: the policies
of closing off all borders, spreading neoliberalism, the problems of
globalization, all of which are seen everywhere.
The PublixTheatreCaravan aspires to be an alternative concept to institutionalized theatre; it wants to connect places of political discussion and action. Above all that, it is a try to use theatre strategies such as interference, provocation, interaction and the attack on constructs of power. This process of "work in progress" wants to move, is moving and is being moved all at the same time.
Public and transparent ways of discussion, an offensive position towards borders, regulations, institutional exclusion, limits, dismissal; more important, on crossing and annihilating these borders. One goal must be a boundless multimedia/internet network.
Circumstances of the arrest:
The exact circumstances of the arrest are as of yet not known to us. Since we
do not have contact to the activists only speculations remain. They were
probably stopped on Sunday around 6 pm by the police about 10 miles outside
of Genoa in Recco, where they had drawn the attention of local authorities
with their bus. The police stated that 4 persons were on a 'black list' [its
emergence and whereabouts remain so far in the dark]. All 25 persons who
participated with the caravan at that time were arrested. Prior to that event
the bus had been controlled twice by the Austrian and the Italian police. No
objects could be found that would justify the term weapons.
Groundless
accusations:
According to the first investigation they are charged with vandalism,
endangerment of public safety as well as membership to a criminal
organization. The last and most serious of the charges due to anti-mafia laws
in Italy seems to be the reason for the absolute contact barrier as well. The
circumstantial evidence for this fact is less than convincing. According to
the Austrian consul Manfred Moritsch, black t-Shirts, Swiss pocket knives,
juggling and fire eating equipment and a broken, approx. 50 years old gas
mask. The aforementioned articles, however, were already spotted during the
course of numerous prior checks in Italy and Austria, and not once contested.
Investigation
procedure:
The first hearing took place on Thursday, 26 July 2001 in Alessandria. For
this purpose all arrested were transferred there to be accused of composing
the hard core of an 'international black block' in the presence of even the
Austrian consul in Milan. The existence of that 'black block' as well as its
connection to the caravan, however, could neither be confirmed by Italian nor
Austrian authorities. Furthermore vandalism and endangerment of public safety
were confirmed as charges and all 25 were transferred in remand.
Torture and
abuse:
So far there is no secured information about the health of the members of the
caravan - neither Italian nor Austrian authorities abroad wanted to exclude
the possibilities of abuse. There are, however, several reports by persons
with whom the activists were arrested, that speak of heavy abuse of several
individuals. Nothing so far has been verified though, due to the imposed
contact barrier. The whole procedure of the arrest and the transfer to the
prisons qualifies though as heavy abuse. Whether or not, and if, how many
individual members of the caravan are actually injured is not known to us.
The
role of the Austrian authorities:
While other European governments protest against the overdrawn measures of
the Italian police, the Austrian government has expressed its full confidence
in the Italian police and law. Even after some evidence surfaced about a
possible channeling of right-wing extremist groups into the protests (as
means of the police strategy of escalation), the Austrian Foreign Minister
met with her Italian colleague without a word of protest. Even the Italian
public prosecutor's office questions the circumstances of the arrests
regarding the moderation of the police force. We do not want to speculate
here, but the serious question remains whether or not the arrest of the 'no
border - no nation' caravan was part of a plot of Italian and Austrian police
to criminalize them. An Italian policeman stated: 'We have information of
Austrian authorities that with high probability weapons were to be smuggled
to Genoa in this bus'.
As no real evidence was shown the unbelievable accusations could not
withstand pressure by most of the arrested` s home officials.
The whole procedure of investigation is also
responsible for the fact that activists from Australia, Germany, Austria,
Sweden, Slovakia and the US are still in detention.