Carl Cattermole This past Tory decade has left public services looking like a bicycle locked up too long in East London: valuable parts stolen, everything else rusted. And if the service still has two wheels then I guarantee it doesn’t have the suspension to cope with bumps… and… COVID-19 isn’t a bump, it’s an assault
Tag: Prison
Free Kevan Thakrar – End solitary confinement in the UK!
On Monday 9th March, the Incarcerated Workers Organising Committee (IWOC) have called a protest outside the Royal College of Psychiatrists to mark the 10 years that IWOC member Kevan Thakrar has spent in Close Supervision Centres within the British prison system. Close Supervisions Centres (CSCs) are the most extreme form of imprisonment in the UK,
Britannia chained: The assault on our rights has begun
This week has seen a raft of draconian law & order policies floated by the government and police representatives. Carl Spender examines these grim omens of the future. And so it begins: returned to government with a thumping majority, Johnson’s Tories have begun a crackdown on those pesky legal rights that risk getting in the
100 Days of Freedom: A new year’s message from Sarah Jane Baker
Last week, Sarah Jane Baker celebrated her 100th day as a free woman, having served 30 years in men’s prisons. At the time of her release, she was the world’s longest serving trans prisoner. Here she offers us a message of hope and solidarity for the new year. During the 30 years in which I
“The human cost is actual”: Carl Cattermole on the London Bridge attack
I witnessed the attack at London Bridge last Friday. Like the victims of the attack I’m a prison campaigner (Jack Merritt, one of the deceased, followed my work on social media). Like the assailant, I’m an ex-prisoner and I was failed by prison, as most of us are. There’s so much more than meets the
Greece: Nikos Romanos released from prison
Greek anarchist prisoner Nikos Romanos was released from prison last week after serving 6 years out of his 18-year sentence. He was freed following a legal battle: despite his good behavior behind bars, the court originally had not admitted any mitigating circumstances necessary for early release. However, this decision was eventually reversed by the Greek
Italian political prisoners hunger strike against repression
Two Italian anarchists, Anna Beniamino and Silvia Ruggeri, on hunger strike for nearly a month, have now been joined by six more comrades in prisons across the country. Their hunger strike calls for an end to the notorious 41bis political prisoner regime in Italy, and for the closure of the infamous L’Aquila prison. Anna was
Fuck Valentine’s Day – Prison Noise Demo
In this photo report London ABC records this year’s rally at HMP Bronzefield in Surrey. You can find their original report here. On Valentines Day, February 14th around 40-50 enraged individuals went to HMP Bronzefield for a noise demo. In solidarity with over 500 women and youth inside and all those incarcerated in an oppressive
Prison Island: A new report on prison expansion in England, Wales and Scotland – out now
In August Corporate Watch, a not-for-profit co-operative that researches the social and environmental impact of capitalism, released their latest report on prison expansion in England Scotland and Wales: Prison Island. Now physical copies of the report are available to buy from Freedom Bookshop and from Corporate Watch’s website. Find out more about the report below
On Education: An Interview with David Gilbert and Jalil Muntaqim
Political struggle, anarchism, and education have a long, complex history. To help shed some critical light, and cut through layers of academic debris, I sought two political prisoners’, and long-term peer educators’, views on education and struggle. How important is education in radical or revolutionary struggle? Jalil: You did not define what you mean by