In this bulletin:
1. Legal Latest
2. Public Meeting and Short Film showing in London
3. Benefit for the Saloniki 8
4. International Day of Solidarity for the Saloniki 8
5. Article from FREE PRESS, national daily newspaper in Greece
6. Appeal for funds

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1. Legal Latest
Simon’s Lawyer yesterday – Monday - submitted the application of appeal against the refusal of bail. We must now wait for one month before the judges make their decision as to whether to grant bail.


2. Public Meeting and Short Film showing in London
There will be a meeting tonight – Tuesday 1st June from 8pm at London Action Resource Centre, 62 Fieldgate Street, E1. (Nearest tube is Whitechapel).

We will be showing the short film that was broadcast of Greek TV of the police collecting weapons and planting them on Simon. Activists back from Greece will talk about the current situation and we will discuss ways to support the Saloniki 8, both practically and with solidarity action/events. The meeting is FREE but there will be a suggested donation of £1 unwaged/£2 waged. This will be transferred to Simon’s prison account.


3. Benefit for the Saloniki 8
For those of you who can make it this Friday 4th July, London - a benefit
for our comrades who were beaten and fitted up in Thessaloniki.

* Serum & Audiophile Sound System
* DJs
* Cafe Bar

Eton Mission Social Club, Eastway, Hackney Wick, London
10pm till late. You can get buses 26, 30, 236, 388 to Hackney Wick or the Silverlink train


4. International Day of Solidarity for the Saloniki 8
A day of action has been called for Thursday 10th July. Thessaloniki Prisoners Solidarity will be calling a meeting shortly to discuss ideas and plan an event in London. Not in London? Why not plan your own event, or organise a fundraiser? If you do, please let us know so that we can publicise it further. Watch this space…


5. Article from FREE PRESS, a national daily newspaper on the arrests of the prisoners. 26th June 2003.

ELEFTHEROTYPIA, 26TH JUNE 2003, P. 47
THESSALONIKI, VASILIS PAPANASTASOULIS,
“THE POLICEMEN CHARGED THE BRITISH WITH THE MOLOTOVS”

They were taken to prison, yesterday, after their statement to the B’ investigator, 7 accused for the vandalism that took place on Saturday in the centre of Thessaloniki during the summit of Chalkidiki.

The 3 Greeks and 4 foreigners (2 Spanish, 1 Syrian and 1 British) were detained as the district attorney and the investigator agreed, because they were considered suspect of escape or committing other offence, according to the article 282 of the Penal Code. Their case had stand out from the one of the other 20 arrested since the beginning. They were also accused for felony but later they were set free under restriction orders a day earlier. The detained seven, according to the legal papers (brief), were holding Molotov cocktail bombs, when the police arrested them.

Although, the attorney showed the Authorities photographs and video from ET3 that shows the 30 year old Briton Simon Chapman carrying a blue bag when he was arrested and not the black one full of cocktail Molotov which is claimed to be his.

In the video one can see the policemen collecting from the street the black bag with seven cocktail Molotov, putting two axes in it and putting it to his hand. This incident was denounced by the Greek Social Forum, which said that the Briton was beaten during his arrest as well as some others that were arrested. At the same time, they are asking not to extradite to Syria the Syrian-born Souleiman Dagdouk – Kastro and to go to the Greek court because his life is in danger. He is a unionist – immigrant, member of the Construction worker’s union of Hania. He has been living in our country for the last 13 years and although he had been arrested in Crete before he hadn’t been extradited because of the mobilization of the local community. Kastro claims that when he was arrested he was giving out leaflets for the immigration issue, at a long distance from were the events were held.

Yesterday outside the magisterial building (court house) of Thessalonica about 50 people went to show their solidarity with the arrested and they put up two banners that were writing in Greek and in Spanish: “ Solidarity to the arrested, against the summit”. Yesterday the Manifest Three-member Magistrate’s court of Thessalonica charged the 26 year old French man V.P. and the 24 year old Italian woman A.V with two years imprisonment with 3-year bail with the accusation of holding weapon illegally. They had been arrested on last Sunday night in Thessaloniki because they were found to hold nuts, torches, hammers, gas masks etc.

(Article translated by a Greek comrade, amended slightly for grammar. nb. The article does not mention the American, Jonathan 'Slug' Crowell, who was arrested, released and later re-arrested, when he returned to the police station to collect his passport.)


6. Appeal for funds
As Simon and the others face having to wait on remand for at least another month, we are faced with potentially very large sums of money having to be raised to sustain support, help with travel costs, continuing publicity and in possibly in contributing towards legal costs. Donations, however small, are crucial and can make a significant contribution towards sustaining the campaign until Simon and the others have been released. Cheques payable to “ABC” can be sent to BM Automatic, London WC1N 3XX where they will be forwarded to Greece.