The following statement was written from memory about the talks with Ahmed during a visit to him inside prison and is therefore more a summary of some parts the conversation than a complete statement written by him. Also he continues to be isolated from the outside world: Although at least the officially accepted 'contact persons' should be allowed to send letters to him, at the moment all letters are hold back from him. He is told, that only postcards are allowed, however, also they don't reach him. The picture shows him with one of his daughters several years ago, before he was confronted with the EU's criminalization of migration and protest. "I am so much tired of all this process and waiting. Now the only important thing for me is to see my family again. I need to be patient and strong. It is very hard for me to wait the next month for a further trial in second level court. But if it’s like this I will be strong enough to accept. I am working on the application to go to Cyprus after the verdict. Now the second level court has to decide. I still have the idea that something good will happen. The judge of the last trial said basically to me you are not a terrorist, but part of the crowd who was rioting. So it is only a game, for the election, for political power. How can they still say I am a terrorist? All the court process showed that they have no evidence against me really. All we watched was video material where I did nothing. On the border they attacked us. You can see on the video we are even shouting that we love Hungary. And now, we are the terrorists? I have a big pain in my heart. Because people have only hatred. People wear like blinders, they don’t see reality, they only see their prejudice. There is just hatred, hatred every day. Why they have this image of muslim that they are terrorist? They just have some picture in mind, that they spread. For me Islam is the religion of peace and love. Ok, they have an interests and that’s why they used my case to show that all muslims are terrorist. It’s for a political reason. But now they reached their aim, why don’t they stop? Why do they want to destroy me, a father of 2 kids? They want to play God? We are all humans. We should see society like a garden. A mix of all kind of flowers, of all kind of colors. That is what creates a beautiful garden." Today the court trial against the MORIA 35 started in Chios Island. To show solidarity with them, a banner was dropped in Thessaloniki (Greece): Here is one text from Ubuntu-Wahada about the current cases of criminalization of migrant protests in Greece taken from their website:
On July 18, 2017, migrants in the Moriah camp went on protest against the awful conditions that continue to prevail. The cops attacked them and the protest ended in beatings and arrests. 35 people were arrested (all of them of African origin) without any evidence or criteria, except for the color of their skin. They are charged for: (a) Arson by intent from which a hazard may arise for a person, jointly. (b) Dangerous physical harm, attempted as well as executed to the detriment of police and fire brigade officers, jointly and repeatedly. (c) Damage in form of arson of foreign ownership and of an object that serves a common benefit, jointly and repeatedly. (d) Resistance performed by more than one person, who had their faces covered and carried potentially dangerous objects. 30 of them are imprisoned in the prisons of Avlona, Korydallos and Chios, where they will be detained until their trial, which will take place on April 20, 2018. In addition, two more migrants are detained on similar charges (for a revolt that took place in Moria on July 10, 2017) and will be tried on May 11, 2018. Eight more migrants are detained in various prisons around the country, on heavy charges and will go on trial on April 27, 2018, because a year ago and after months of detention they dared to ask how long they would remain in administrative detention at Petrou Ralli. FREEDOM NOW FOR “MORIA 32” & “PETROU RALLI 8” DETAINED MIGRANTS! NO CHARGES FOR THOSE WHO ARE FIGHTING FOR THEIR RIGHTS OPEN BORDERS FOR ALL MIGRANTS TRIAL OF MORIA 35: APRIL 20, CHIOS ISLAND Ubuntu-Wahhada Also here you can find more information about three cases of migrants protest criminalization in Greece & an Overview about the upcoming dates:Trial of the Moria 35: April 20, Chios island. Trial of No Lager 3: April 23, Courthouse of Drama Trial of Petrou Ralli 8: April 27, Athens Trial for the July 10 (2017) riots in Moria: May 11, 2018. Also there is a call out for transnational solidarity actions! Our solidarity is stronger than their prison walls and fences! Free all prisoners of Fortress Europe! On March, 14th the court of Szeged comfirmed Ahmed to be a "terrorist" and sentenced him to seven years of prison - three years less than in the first verdict. We didn't expect a fair trial and unfortunately the verdict proved it. It was a ridiculous theatre: After the final speeches of prosecutor and defence at the same day the verdict followed. The court did not even try to avoid the impression of a directed show: the verdict obviously was rendered and written long before: No need to keep up the appearance of a formal correct procedure. The judge perfectly assisted Orbán and his gang. Just a few weeks before the Hungarian elections and in the eve of Hungary's National Day this verdict fit perfectly in the government's election campaign. One day later tens of thousands applauded to Orbán's speech in front of the National Parliament, listening to his fairy tales about Soros and the 1 Million African Migrants. The prosecutor according to his own words "focused just on the act of terrorism": Ahmed's only aim had been to violate the border. All his actions and movements and thoughts were based only on one aim: violating the border. The defense required to leave aside any political impact and to decide strictly juridical. Instead he asked the court to take into account Ahmed's aim to accompany his parents and his brother's family and also the highly emotional situation at the border. "No matter what he may did, there is no proof of any aggressive words directed to the Hungarian police". Barandy's strategy of leaving out the political meaning of the trial obviously didn't work out: Ahmed was found guilty in "complicity in an act of terror” and “illegal entry as part of a mass riot” and was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment and expulsion from Hungary for 10 years. Seven years of sentence minus the prior detention mean two more years in prison. Both sides appealed the judgement - The show must go on. #Rage and Anger! #Freedom for Ahmed! Here is another report about it in Arabic (Radio Interview from Radio Corax) and a statement in German (the by the NGO Grundrechtekommittee). Common Voices Radio: Ahmed Hamed (Röszke11) & der senegalesische Sänger Omar Pene (in Arabic)15/3/2018
في الرابع عشر من آذار 2018، أي بالأمس تماماً، كان آخر حكم على آخر الأشخاص والذين عرفوا بأسم روشكا 11 الشاب السوري أحمد حامض هو آخر الأحد عشر شخصاً الباقين في السجن، والذين تم اعتقالهم من قبل الشرطة الهنغارية أثناء تدفق المهاجرين عبر حدودها في أيلول عام 2015. تحدثنا مع والد أحمد وايضا مع إحدى الناشطات في قضية أحمد
في أسفل الصفحة تجدون الروابط التي تطلعون من خلالها على القضية أكثر، وكيفية الدعم بطرق عديدة LINK to the Radio Podcast The last part of the showtrial is going to end: On March, 14th the pleas are expected, on March, 19th the verdict will be announced. That's the right moment to show solidarity and to support Ahmed at court! Scene is Szeged Court (Szeged, Széchényi tér 4.). You have to register to attend the trial. To attend the trial you have to register with an e-mail until the 10th of March 12:00 o'clock with your name and official organization. You can send this e-mail to the court: [email protected] Also if you don't manage to register, the last times it was possible to register spontaneously at the court right before the trial started if there are free places inside the court room. Here you can download posters and flyer for the upcoming trial. If you want to come, you can contact us via: [email protected] #FreeAhmed! Facebook: www.facebook.com/11personfreedom Follow us on Twitter: @freetheröszke11 Interview with one activist from the Röszke 11 campaign about the last trial by the group 'You can't evict solidarity':
https://cantevictsolidarityenglish.noblogs.org/post/2018/01/25/roeszke11-hungary-interview-with-an-activist/ "We want to do an interview with an activist from the FreeTheRöszke11-Solidarity Campaign in Hungary. And we are the Can’t Evict Solidarity Campaign, we’re doing financial support and public work on repression and trials throughout the Balkanroute." Radio podcasts by the free radio station Radio Flora (Hannover, Germany): http://www.freie-radios.net/87867 "Seit 2,5 Jahren befindet sich Ahmed H. in Ungarn im Knast, er wurde 2016 dort als „Terrorist“ zu zehn Jahren Haft verurteilt. Hintergrund des Urteils ist die Schließung der Balkanroute zwischen Serbien und Ungarn. In Ungarn trat zum15. September 2015 über Nacht ein Gesetz inkraft, das die »illegale Einwanderung« als Straftat mit bis zu fünf Jahren Haft kriminalisierte. Doch aus Serbien erreichten weiterhin tausende Menschen die Grenze und stauten sich dort. Auf heftige Proteste für das Recht auf Bewegungsfreiheit folgten Szenen von Polizeigewalt. Ahmed soll die Unruhen angeführt und die Polizei zum Öffnen der Grenze aufgefordert haben. Nach ungarischem Recht kann dies als „terroristischer Akt“ ausgelegt werden. Le 8, 10 et 12 janvier ont eu lieu les nouvelles audiences du procès contre Ahmed H., condamné en Hongrie fin 2016 à dix ans de réclusion pour "terrorisme". Un représentant du FCE était présent sur place en tant qu'observateur international. (The article was originally published in Archipel) Pour comprendre le procès, il faut connaître l'historique. Nous nous souvenons de l'été 2015 : des centaines de milliers de personnes, venues principalement de la Syrie en guerre, fuient par la route des Balkans en direction de l'Europe du Nord et de l'Ouest. Le 15 septembre, la Hongrie, pays de passage, installe des barbelés à la frontière avec la Serbie, déclare l'état de crise et modifie le même jour le droit d'asile et le Code pénal. Depuis cette révision, "l'entrée illégale" est punie jusqu'à trois ans de réclusion et le "passage illégal" de la frontière pendant une émeute est sanctionné jusqu'à 5 ans de prison. Le passage de la frontière avec la Serbie à Röszke, où plusieurs milliers de personnes par jour pouvaient auparavant entrer en Europe, est fermé du jour au lendemain. Environ 2 000 réfugiés restent sur place.
C'est pourquoi le 15 septembre des protestations ont commencé contre ce nouveau régime des frontières instauré subitement, et se sont poursuivies les jours suivants. Des affrontements ont eu lieu avec les forces de police déployées massivement, qui employèrent gaz lacrymogènes, matraques et canons à eau sur la foule, sans ménagement pour les personnes âgées et les enfants. --SLO--
"V začetku januarja 2018 smo spremljali sodno obravnavo Ahmeda H. obtoženega na 10-letno zaporno kazen zaradi terorizma in ilegalnega prečkanja Madžarske meje iz dne 16.septembra 2015. Gre za ponovno prvostopenjsko obravnavo, po tem ko je prvo razsodbo drugostopenjsko sodišče razveljavilo, zaradi mnogih napak v postopku to je površno pregledana dokazna dokumentacija. Spomnimo, da je na dan, ki je tema sodnega postopka Madžarska zaprla svoje meje in malo pred tem uvedla zakon, ki kriminalizira ilegalno prečkanje meje. Ljudje, ki so se takrat znašli na mejnem prehodu Roszke niso bili seznanjeni z novimi ukrepi Madžarske države. Vedeli so, da so še dan pred tem ljudje lahko brez težav množično prestopili mejo, kjer so jih pričakali avtobusi, ki so ljudi vozili v Avstrijo. Več-tisoč glava množica je zato več ur vztrajala na meji s skandiranjem in prošnjami po odprtju meje. Po brutalnem policijskem napadu na ljudi s solzivcem, vodnim topom in s pretepanjem s pendreki, so se nekateri odzvali z defenzivnim uporom. Iz množice ljudi, so kot krivce izolirali 11 oseb, jih aretirali in privedli pred sodišče. Med tem ko je večina že na prostosti, Ahmed ostaja v priporu, zdaj že več kot dve leti. Madžarska z Orbanom na čelu s sodnim postopkom proti Ahmedu H. ekscesno gradi na rasistični propagandi, s katero želi na njegovem primeru pokazati, da so begunci in/ali migranti teroristi, ki bodo uničili Madžarsko in Evropo. S tem vztrajno legitimira izdatno vlaganje države v tako imenovane varnostne policijske in vojaške nadzorne sisteme, militarizacijo meje, ohranjajo in krepijo ozračje strahu; med tem pa z rasistično politiko nabira svoje politične točke in sam Orban ohranja svojo oblast. --ENG-- In the beginning of january we were folllowing a court procesion of Ahmed H. acused of 10-year inprisonment for terorisem and ilegal crossing of Humgarian bourder on 16 of Sep 2015. It was again a first-instance heraing after the first verdict was annulled by the second-instance court, because of mistakes in the procedure - superficial examination of the documentation. Let's remember that on the day that is the subject of judicial proceedings, Hungary closed its borders and a little before that it introduced a law that criminalizes the illegal crossing of the border. The people who then found themselves at the Roszke border crossing were not aware of the new measures taken by the Hungarian state. They knew that the day before, people could easily cross the border, where there were buses waiting to drive them to Austria. For several hours the crowd insisted on the border with chants and requests for opening the border. After a brutal police attack with tear gas, water cannon and batons, some responded with defensive resistance. From the crowd, they've picked 11 people that would represent the crimilas. They were arrested and taken to court. While the majority is already free, Ahmed remains in detention for more than two years now. With the lawsuit against Ahmed H., Hungary with its leader Orban, builds on racist propaganda. They use Ahmed H. As an example to show that refugees and / or migrants are terrorists who will destroy Hungary and Europe. By doing so, it persistently legitimizes the country's extensive investment in the so-called security police and military surveillance systems, the militarization of the border, preserving and strengthening the atmosphere of fear; while raising its political points with racist politics, and so Orban ensure his power." Source: Komunal.org: Free Ahmed H. NOW! There were several international observers present at the trial in Szeged. One observer from the German 'Grundrechtekomittee' (Basic Rights Comittee) joined. Their legal and political report can be found here. Also one person from the European Civil Forum in Switzerland was present in court and shared his opinion in a statement: Statement about the trial against Ahmed H. on the 8th, 10th and 12th of January 2018 in Szeged (Hungary) I was participating the trial against Ahmed H. as an international observer. Already on the first day of the trial in January 2018 I got the impression of a Kafkaesque nightmare. The accused is led into the court room by two tall, masked Anti-Terror-police men, dressed all in black. He is hand-cuffed, connected to a leash, which is chained to one of the police officers, and wears a hobble. As soon as Ahmed H. took stand in the dock, the handcuffs are released, but the leash and the hobble remain closed. During the whole trial these both police officers are positioned on the left and on the right of Ahmed H. Since his arrest in September 2015 Ahmed H. is called a terrorist and treated like one - without any reliable evidence against him. This decision of the Hungarian government, their authorities and media contradicts all humane and ethical values. As an outside observer I can only take home the impression that this trial represents a political show trial, tin order to criminalize migrants on a general basis and to legitimize Hungary’s sealing-off. In the year 1956, after the bloody suppression of the Hungarian uprising, thousands of people had to flee the country and to find a new existence. They could rely on a generous welcome [due to the anti-communist political atmosphere, added by translator]. The more I am in shock, that the government and authorities of a country, that had to experience such a difficult situation, rejects the refugees of today, discriminates against them and declares them to be criminals and terrorists. Ahmed H. has accompanied members of his family in 2015 on their flight from Syria. Flight is not a crime, neither is the protection of refugees. Therefore I hope, that Ahmed H. will find his freedom again very soon and will be able to return to his wife and children. Szeged, 10th of January 2017 Michael Rössler Fédération Européenne des Radios Libres (FERL), Frankreich European Civil Forum Forum Civique Européen, Schweiz Click here to listen to the radio podcast. "V Szegedu poteha sojenje Ahmadu H., ki je obtožen terorizma zaradi vloge v protestih na madžarsko-srbski meji leta 2015. Iz sojenja se javlja sodelavka RŠ Maruša." |
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The website is the part of an international campaign to support the 11 accused of the Roszke trials in Hungary. We created the site to collect and to facilitate to spread information. We invite everybody to join to the campaign, let's fight against injustice! Nobody can be silenced!
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Free the Moria 35! Noborder Serbia Migszol Moving Europe No Border Timisoara Freedom for Mahmoud A. Komunal.org |