Talvez já tenham ouvido falar deste triste episódio para a democracia europeia no geral e liberdade de expressão dos activistas de direitos dos animais em particular, mas aqui fica mais informação sobre ele.
Que os austríacos têm alguma propensão para a maldade tem-se notado últimamente com as descobertas chocantes de pessoas fechadas em caves por anos a fio.
Alguns ainda podem sempre lembrar-se de um determinado ditador alemão dos anos 30 (vegetariano por sinal) igualmente, natural da terra da Heidi e do Avôzinho (não estamos a dizer nada pois não?), que também não fez assim tantos amigos nem angariou tantos fãs quanto isso.
Portanto da Áustria, tirando as Edelweiss que me são tão caras e a Lomografia (e a malta da Unsaleable já agora), o que poderá vir de bom? Nada pelos vistos.
No passado dia 21 de Maio as autoridades, sem os devidos mandados de busca, conduziram buscas ilegais a casas de activistas de direitos dos animais e apreenderam diversos equipamentos como telefones, computadores, material fotográfico e material de vídeo. Sem as devidas autorizações reitero.
Concerteza que a polícia austríaca pode suspeitar que um grupo de direitos animais tenha ligações a outros grupos como por exemplo a ALF (que foi considerado terrorista) e investigar os seus elementos. Mesmo tendo sido demonstrado que os elementos austríacos não conhecem, de facto, os elementos da ALF (o que só é natural uma vez que a malta da ALF não se costuma apresentar em público como tal) a polícia continua a ter o direito de arranjar mandatos de busca e de captura e tudo o mais necessário, com fundamentos legais, para revistar os lares destas pessoas e eventualmente, encontradas algumas provas ou indícios incriminadores, mantê-los detidos.
Tal não se verificou. Nem a polícia tinha os mandatos, nem os activistas detidos foram ainda acusados do que quer que seja. Isto foi no dia 21 de Maio, hoje é dia 9 de Julho; certamente já terão tido tempo para descobrir qualquer coisa que os incrimine e se não descobriram é porque talvez não exista e então, deveriam ser libertados.
Mas por vezes a Lei funciona de maneiras diferentes com os activistas de direitos dos animais. Temos visto isso acontecer repetidamente nos EUA e no Reino Unido. Pelos vistos agora a Lei também é flexível na Áustria.
Martin Balluch é um dos (notáveis) activistas austríacos que se encontra detido e encontra-se a fazer greve de fome. A ANIMAL está a organizar uma vigília em frente à Embaixada Austríaca como se pode ler aqui.
Abaixo, trasncrevemos uma declaração que ele escreveu.
[blockquote]Vienna, 4th July 2008
Message to the international animal rights movement regarding my hunger
strike on my 43rd day of incarceration
I suppose you will know by now that 43 days ago, Austrian police undertook
28 armed raids on homes of animal rights activist and on offices of 7 animal
rights groups all over Austria
10 people were put on remand, and still are, one of them being me. Because
these police actions were completely out of any proportion and no well –
founded reasons for the raids and arrests were forthcoming, I immediately
went on hunger strike. I used my last means of protest against this
unbelievable level of police terror and state repression.
Initially, I had no access to fruit juice or sugared tea, and then only
after days of no food or drink other than water, I felt already nauseous and
weak. I had to move slowly to avoid a blackout. After a week on hunger
strike I was given sugar and fruit juices, which I chose to drink. The
prison doctor did warn me that a water only hunger strike very rapidly leads
to brain function impairment. As I need my brains to defend myself and to
show these terrorists for what they are I chose to drink juice.
I still lost weight very rapidly, about 1.5 kg a day. On my 13th day of the
hunger strike – I was down 18kg by then – I was moved to the hospital wing
of the prison. Actually, I was moved from Wiener Neustadt prison to the one
where I am now in Vienna because this prison has a hospital wing.
On the 15th day of my hunger strike I passed out for the first time. From
then onwards, I would have to stay in bed.
Since on day 17 I was to be put before a judge to decide whether my prison
stay was to be extended, I ate 2 pieces of fruit and a muesli bar in the
morning, so that I could travel. I immediately felt a lot better. But the
court appearance was a farce. The judge had her decision ready before I
entered the court room, and – contrary to the law – she did not allow me to
give a statement to my defence. Indeed, till today, neither police nor
prosecutor nor the judge have questioned me at all or given me the
opportunity to give a statement, although my solicitors have been requesting
this for weeks!
After the court, I was moved back to the prison hospital and resumed hunger
strike. Over the next days I felt a lot stronger, although I had only eaten
once and such a little bit, but from day 22 onwards, my state of health
deteriorated.
On the 25, authorities started to force feed me. I allowed them to do that
without physical resistance.
The force feeding prevented me from dying. However, it does not stop the
deterioration of my health, it only slows the process down. Doctors informed
me that they did not have proper vegan food to force feed me with.
On day 36 I reached a new low point, which gave me near death experiences. I
had this strong impression of being suspend above a complete void. I was
about to fall into it. I pictured my situation as being up to the neck in a
crevice, standing on such thin ice that could not hold my weight much
longer. I could not get out anymore by myself.
My solicitor had appealed the outrageous decision of the judge and I was
asked by him to give a statement to support my case. I needed to
concentrate. Also, in a few days I have my second court appearance, which
would have been impossible in my state.
So, on day 39 I decided to try and bring some strength back into my body by
eating a little. Since I was still on hunger strike, I was given no food
into my cell at the hospital wing. I managed to take a little orange from
the hospital kitchen bin, and I tried to eat it. It was terrible. I just
couldn’t. I could not swallow properly – I just sucked on it – and I got
unbelievable stomach pains and had diarrhoea.
I asked to speak to the chief doctor of the hospital wing.
Incidentally, this guy is a paid up member of our animal rights group! He
said to me that now he is a criminal too – because he is funding a criminal
organisation. And he supported me. If I was to defend myself and appear in
court, I needed to get back to health at least somewhat. We set up a plan,
and from day 40 onwards, I had a little ground up fruit and porridge with
soya milk.
What a strange feeling to have food in my mouth after such a long time! And
one little spoon full of porridge filled up my stomach completely.
Apparently, it had shrunk to the size of a pea. In any case, I am at the
movement slowly moving back to being alive. I still cannot eat much at all.
I am also not hungry. And I have not been on a toilet for 43 days and still
have 24kg less body weight than before my arrest. My hunger strike has not
ended yet, though. I will go to court and defend myself. If the new judge
and the appeal court both decide to keep me in prison, I will have to make a
decision. Either I will stop my hunger strike, or I will resume it and drink
water only.
Nothing inbetween anymore. In the latter case I will actively refuse being
forcibly fed too, as long as I am able to. Those responsible for this police
terror shall face the consequences.
The prosecution and police have produced absolutely no evidence against me
whatsoever, although they had agents in our group and listened to all my
phone calls, read all my mails, filmed the entrance of my home and followed
me around. So they tried to fabricate evidence. They went to a person, who
they know had animosities against me, and tried to push him to say that I am
likely to have committed arson. He has gone public with that and revealed
how police have tried to influence him and put words in his mouth.
Police also made up an arson attack and tried to blame it on me
Although their own expert found no evidence of arson, but rather that it was
an accident with a poorly insulated oven, and that the owner indeed had been
careless. Police fabricated an animal rights communiqué claiming
responsibility for the arson. In addition, police shifted the date of
accident to 2 days later, in order to blame it on me, since I was indeed 2
days later in the region!
What is happening here to me and the other activists imprisoned, is a
violent crime of extreme proportions. I ask you to keep putting pressure on
Austria and its government in whatever way you can. The case is crumbling,
there are signs of this all over the place.
Senior prosecutors have already admitted that there is no concrete evidence
and that the police raids were unlawful
They still insist on keeping us on remand, because by our mere (legal!)
activism we prove to be companions in crime of ALF activists, and hence all
form a huge criminal organisation – even if we don’t know each other! Police
and prosecutors are trying to hold out as long as they can. Let us pull
together and push them over the cliff. They must be publicly shown to be the
criminals they are. And they must be prosecuted themselves for what they
have done!
Martin Balluch, political prisoner, cell 75 / 05 hospital wing of JA Wien[/blockquote]