Sweden: Repression Against Animal Liberation Activists in Skövde

from UpprorsBladet / Translated by Contra Info

Late the 14th and early the 15th of October 2013, five comrades were arrested and imprisoned in Skövde, Sweden, suspected for over twenty different attacks on fur farmers and the fur industry, as well as liberations of minks. Three of the comrades were later considered to be main suspects and the two others were released, however still being suspects. Close upon the trial startup, end of January, yet another person was detained for involvement in some of the suspected attacks but this person was also released, still being a suspect.

During their interrogations the three main suspects kept their mouths shut, besides one comrade who took the responsibility for a suspected arson against a garage belonging to a fur farmer.

Seeing the media potential the disgusting ex-minister of Justice Thomas Bodström, nowadays a populist lawyer, took on himself to represent all the fur farmers in the court process.

As the trial began in the end of January 2014, two of the comrades remained quiet and didn’t answer to any questions in court, just letting the assembled people know their denying position to the accusations through the voice of their defenders. The third person did however choose another approach, claiming his innocence, his aversion towards violence, as well as calling his close ones as witnesses to his advantage in the court process.

During the first day, the prosecutor scum used an interview from the anarchist zine UpprorsBladet no.3 as evidence against one of the comrades, claiming that he was the one being interviewed. His legal defense stated that there is no evidence-based connection between his client and the person being interviewed.

During the planned ten-days long trial the State posed an allegation that one or more of the accused were suffering from mental disorders. This, in the end, resulted in a six-week long psychiatric evaluation for the three of them, before any convictions could be made. On the 27th of March the main scum doctor of the State institution for (captive) psychiatric care declared all of them ”healthy enough to be sentenced to prison.”

Yesterday, the 31th of March, the last day of trial before conviction took place, and two of the comrades were released on bail. The remaining comrade, being the one who took the responsibility for the alleged arson, were to be kept in captivity as there were some aggravating circumstances concerning evidence around the arson and her involvement therein. The accusations of the two released comrades were, according to the court, not enough to motivate the continuation of an already six months long isolation in captivity; this being stated, although they considered the high likeliness of them evading the long arm of the law, continuing their criminal activities or both.

If the prosecutor gets her will done, the more talkative of the three would get 3 to 3,5 years in prison, and the other two at least 6 years in prison.

Besides showing our comrades the greatest of support for their ideas, their actions and their commitment to the liberation of animals, we find it important to comment on the use of our idea-based weapon against us and our comrades. For us, the enemy using our magazine against a comrade like this, is equal to us taking the service pistol of the State lackeys and point the gun barrel right back at them… This is not the first incident as such but this time we won’t let it be unanswered…

Stay updated with the development of the case and remember that there is always ways to communicate without addresses, names and letters!

Solidarity with our comrades in the struggle for Animal Liberation, for an inter-sectional struggle and most importantly – FOR ANARCHY!

UpprorsBladet

– in constant struggle against the existent

In Swedish (April 1st, 2014)