Associated activists report daily surveillance; solidarity demonstration expected tonight at Berlin’s Moabit prison

~ Juju Alerta ~

Amid revelations of his harsh arrest conditions, a solidarity demonstration with antifascist Thomas J, also known as Nanuk, is expected tonight (31 December) in front of the infamous Moabit prison in Berlin.

Held in alleged connection with the “Antifa Ost” case since late October, Nanuk faces excessive security restrictions which are only being gradually relaxed. To date, he has not received any private mail; no postcards or letters from the outside have reached him. It was also discovered that the prison authorities initially failed to forward his outgoing mail to the prosecutor’s office for mandatory inspection, with the first letters from him arriving only six weeks after his arrest.

Although Nanuk’s mother has been allowed to visit him a few times, one visit was cancelled because the prison “forgot” to inform the relevant authorities. Several other requested visit permits have been denied, one of them under the pretext of “risk of collusion”—despite him being accused of actions that have already been addressed in the first Antifa-East trial. The practice of denying visits classified as ‘left-extremist’ is a well-known strategy to isolate political prisoners from their support networks.

Nanuk has been marked as “potentially violent”, resulting in 22 hours of confinement per day, with only 2 hours of communal yard time and no access to the outside. Participation in sports and other recreational activities was prohibited until recently.

While there have been some initial relaxations, including an additional hour of free exercise, Nanuk has not received any books from the outside so far, despite numerous requests. He is allowed to borrow books from the prison library, but had to wait weeks for the delivery of his subscribed daily and weekly newspapers, which is his legal right as an arrestee. Despite these challenges, comrades report that he remains optimistic, stating that he mostly looks forward to the experiences of the coming day.

The “Antifa Ost” case involves a group of antifascists sentenced to prison terms for attacks on Nazis since 2019. Nanuk is also alleged to have participated in the 2019 attack on the Federal Court of Justice in Leipzig.

Initially, investigations regarding the Leipzig attack focused on Section 129a (membership in a terrorist organisation), which allows for expanded investigative powers such as secretly searching chat histories on smartphones or bugging apartments.

Recently, several letters have been delivered indicating that individuals in Nanuk’s circle have been affected by surveillance measures. At least five people have reported being subjected to telecommunications surveillance and observations over the past year, including eavesdropping on phone calls and conversations outside their homes, monitoring of email and internet activity, and daily surveillance.

A recent ruling also suggests that the German Federal Security Service has taken over some of the surveillance of Nanuk’s associates. The duration and extent of these measures remain unknown and are unlikely to be disclosed.