TV shows Briton on EU riot charge 'is innocent'

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/11/21/wchap21.xml&sSheet=/news/2003/11/21/ixnewstop.html

TV shows Briton on EU riot charge 'is innocent'
By Harry de Quetteville in Athens
(Filed: 21/11/2003)

The lawyer of a British man jailed by Greek authorities after riots during the European Union summit in Thessaloniki in June said yesterday television footage proved his client innocent.

Simon Chapman has been on hunger strike for more than six weeks to draw attention to his case. Under Greek law he can be held without trial for up to 18 months.

He was charged with possession of Molotov cocktails and a hammer after violent clashes between Greek riot police and anti-globalisation protesters at the summit.

But Mr Chapman's lawyer said yesterday television footage taken by two Greek channels and the news agency Reuters showed the charges to be groundless, although he admitted that his client had been involved in "fights" with police.

According to George Ververis, the tapes show Mr Chapman wearing a rucksack that is clearly blue, as protesters clashed with police. Then, he says, footage shows Greek police collecting Molotov cocktails and placing them in a black rucksack. Mr Chapman was charged with possessing a black rucksack containing the Molotov cocktails.

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1. excellent op-ed in guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1088191,00.html

In the line of fire

The policing of mass demonstrations is becoming increasingly repressive and politicised

Katharine Ainger
Wednesday November 19, 2003
The Guardian

As President Bush arrives in London amid unprecedented security, the politicisation of policing across Europe has never been clearer. This is a lesson Simon Chapman, a young British man detained on charges of carrying petrol bombs during anti-EU summit protests in Salonika in June, has learned to his cost.

Now on the 44th day of a hunger strike in a prison hospital in Greece to protest his innocence and demand bail, Chapman has lost two-and-a-half stone and is in a serious condition with respiratory and liver problems.

Meanwhile, evidence that the police framed him is mounting. On November 12 his lawyers handed over new footage from a private Greek television channel showing police filling a black rucksack, identical to the one used to incriminate him, with explosives. Other TV footage shows him being arrested carrying an entirely different blue and purple rucksack.

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The manufacture of evidence linking all protesters to violent factions has become a regular feature of anti-capitalist demonstrations. In 2000 in Washington DC, police shut down the activists' convergence centre because they discovered equipment to make "pepper spray" (a bag of dried chillies in the kitchen) and "petrol bombs" (paint thinner and rags in the area where banners were being painted). In Barcelona in 2001, police were reprimanded after they were discovered dressed as activists and breaking the windows of a Burger King.

The association of protest and terrorism has opened up even more possibilities for this kind of abuse. If the population is warned that al-Qaida will attack, then protesters can be subjected to draconian anti-terrorist measures. British police used the Terrorism Act to search anti-war protesters and prevent them travelling to RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, from which B52s were taking off to bomb Iraq. Protesters against the recent arms fair in London faced similar measures.

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2. new flyer

www.freesimonchapman.org

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3. Kathimerini: Probe into Thessaloniki arrest

http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_100008_20/11/2003_36511

2003-11-20

Probe into Thessaloniki arrest

A Supreme Court prosecutor yesterday ordered an investigation into claims that a Briton held in pre-trial custody since his arrest after the June 21 anti-EU riots in Thessaloniki was framed by police.

This followed the publication of photographs that appeared to show police had switched a bag belonging to Simon Chapman for another that contained petrol bombs. Chapman is currently on the 42nd day of a hunger strike to demand his release on bail. Another four of the seven men arrested after the riots that caused over a million euros in damage to shops, banks and cars as European Union leaders held a summit in Halkidiki ô are on hunger strike.

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Yesterday, Justice Minister Philippos Petsalnikos denied claims by human rights groups, lawyers and hospital doctors that the suspects had been mistreated and prevented from contacting their lawyers or relatives. He said the ministry could only ask judicial authorities to speed up their handling of the prosecution.

“I have already begged judicial authorities and prosecutors to ensure there is no delay,” he said. Government spokesman Christos Protopapas said that “great care is being displayed regarding the suspects’ health,” and promised that if allegations of a police stitch-up are confirmed “justice will be done.” He said authorities are looking into requests for the suspects’ release on bail.

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4. from today's independent

http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/story.jsp?story=466104

Video proves hunger striker was framed, lawyer says

By Daniel Howden in Athens

22 November 2003

Lawyers for a British man nearing death in a Greek jail after a 50-day hunger strike have released video evidence to support his claim that he was framed by police after riots at the European Union Summit in Thessaloniki in June.

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This week, the prosecutor in Greece's Supreme Court took the unexpected step of ordering an investigation into the circumstances of Mr Chapman's arrest. The television footage that lawyers say shows the charges to be groundless, has increased the pressure on Greek authorities to allow the hunger strikers bail.

But friends and relatives fear any decision will come too late to save him. "Every day and every hour is important now because Simon is in great danger," his French fiancée, Mylan, who withheld her surname, told The Independent. "He is innocent and the court needs to make a decision."

Mr Chapman's lawyer, Haris Ladis, said police and the authorities had been playing a "dirty game" with his client. The tapes, from two Greek channels, show Mr Chapman clearly wearing a blue rucksack during fighting with police. Separate footage then shows Greek police in riot gear collecting petrol bombs and other items into a black rucksack. Mr Chapman has been charged with possession of a black rucksack containing petrol bombs, a hammer and an axe.

Mr Ladis said: "The video shows the scene where Mr Chapman was detained wearing the blue rucksack. A couple of minutes later you have him sitting down after being badly beaten by the police and there is a new rucksack, which is black." The lawyer said his client was "on the point of no return". He added: "Even if he starts emergency treatment there may already be irreparable damage."

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5. today's bbc

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/essex/3228364.stm

Last Updated: Saturday, 22 November, 2003, 12:05 GMT

Action call over hunger striker

The Greek justice minister has intervened in the case of a Briton on hunger strike in a prison in Greece, his solicitor has told BBC News Online.

Simon Chapman, 30, from Basildon, Essex, is facing 25 years in prison after being arrested with anti-capitalist protesters at the European Union summit in Thessaloniki in June.

Mr Chapman was later charged with possessing Molotov cocktails, an axe and a hammer, but he says he had video evidence to prove they were planted on him.

Now Greek Justice Minister Philippos Petsalnikos has called for a speedy resolution of the case, Mr Chapman's solicitor George Ververis said.

Mr Ververis said he expected a decision on Mr Chapman's case to be made early next week.

He said another positive development was that a supreme court prosecutor Dimitris Linos has called for an inquiry into the police handling of the case.

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