Athens: Steki Ano Kato Patission resquatted

[Update: During the resquat, 11 arrests were made on misdemeanor charges. The trial of the comrades has been postponed until February 13. The legal costs to be collected are many, your financial support is welcome.]

On saturday december 9, 2023, the Steki Ano Kato Patission was resquatted by 80 comrades. Then 250 people gathered in front to support the reoccupation. This gathering was attacked by cops and people were trapped in apartment buildings, in the adjacent dormitories and in the Steki itself. At the same time, teargas was thrown into cars, cops shouted at people that they would burn them alive, arrests were made, and people were beaten up. The cops also surrounded the Steki, teargas was thrown inside. People defended the Steki and kept it. There are seriously injured comrades, they are taken to the hospital. Around 19 people were arrested. On sunday 10, solidarity rally for those arrested during the Steki Ano-Kato Patission resquat at 11:00, Dikastiria (Evelpidon).
The Ano-Kato resquat took place on the nationwide day of action in solidarity with the squats, with a demonstration at Monastiraki in Athens. The attacks on our squats confirm once again that solidarity, self-organization and unmediated struggle are a formidable enemy for the state. The call out was made by Ano Kato Patission, ASP (Autonomous Polytechnic Steki), Evagelismos and Zizania.
STRUGGLES ARE NOT EMPTIED, IDEAS ARE NOT SEALED
SOLIDARITY WITH SQUATS

Statement from Steki Ano-Kato Patission:

We said that we are not leaving and we mean it [Read More]

Montreuil: La Baudrière evicted

This morning, Tuesday, August 22, 2023, at 6am in Montreuil (France), took place the eviction of La Baudrière, anarcha-feminist squat. This place was, since November 2021, a space of habitation, political organization and care, which has seen many people pass by and hosted many struggles. La Baudrière defended itself with confetti and barricades to resist as long as possible, to continue to keep alive the feminist queer autonomy. The people on site held for 5 hours to the assaults of the cops, especially on the roof.

Police resources used were astonishing: more than 100 cops on site, including the Brav-M, the BAC, the BRI, a climbers unit, a private security group, a fire truck, Enedis technicians, 3 drones… The neighborhood was completely cordoned off for half a day. [Read More]

London: The Met shows its true nature…yet again

The Metropolitan Police deployed its riot cops recently in a disturbing show of force. A group of homeless people calling themselves the Autonomous Winter Shelter (AWS) occupied the disused Sisters of Mercy convent in Shadwell, Tower Hamlets, London in November 2022.

The owner sent a complaint to the Met in December. They subsequently carried out an investigation. In April 2023 they sent a letter to the squatters requesting that they leave the building.

They then visited the site on many occasions but were denied entry. Forty people were living at the ex-convent.

On June 1st they showed up in force with a large number of cops in riot gear. 29 people were dragged out of the building, with no time to collect their belongings, whilst others fled when they saw the riot cops. A crowd which gathered in support were threatened with raised batons by the riot thugs. [Read More]

Athens: about the repressive operation and the defense of Prosfygika

We are still here … The Community remains strong and united … Prosfygika will win!!!!

On 22/11/2022, at 5.45 am, all kinds of police forces, riot police MAT, state security, Delta, OPKE and EKAM, invaded the squated neighbourhood of Prosfygika on Alexandra Avenue and more specifically the 7th block, on Tikhonidos Street (behind the Elpis Hospital). They broke through the outer door of the building, breaking it. Then they went up to the second floor where two community companions, the arrested companion and another refugee from Iran live. They kidnapped both of them and proceeded to carry out a thorough search of the building. At the same time, the entire neighborhood was surrounded by the repression forces, not only at the site of the search but in total, attempting to occupy it.

The operation was spotted by the community’s daily morning patrol who began to inform the neighborhood. Comrades and compañeras took to the rooftops to wake up the rest of us. Not knowing exactly what was happening, we recognized that the operation was limited to a specific building, but we also realized the serious possibility of a general attack. In retrospect, we judge that the invasion that took place was premeditated from the morning. All the time that elapsed until the moment of the invasion was the result of preparation, judgment on costs and gains, as well as a measurement of our determination, by the officials of the GADA and the ministry. [Read More]

Paris: Ambassade des Immigrés squat evicted

This morning, Wednesday 19 September, at 4:30 am the Ambassade des Immigrés squat was evicted in violence. There were as many police officers as inhabitants.
Women, men, children, sick and handicapped people were awakened by the doors of their rooms being crushed by the CRS, police and gendarmes. While the people were being evicted, nearly fifteen cop trucks blocked Saulnier Street and the neighborhood. The inhabitants of the squat were not able to recover their belongings or the papers they kept in their rooms…
If we didn’t believe promises, there was no way to anticipate the violence, the repression and the illegality in which the inhabitants of the Ambassade des immigrés were evicted this morning.
The current emergency concerns 6 people who were rounded up when their names were on the list of people to be housed and who are currently being held in administrative detention. They are detained on rue de l’Aubrac at the police station specialized in the arrest of undocumented migrants. These 6 people risk being sent to the CRA (Centre de Rétention Administrative) and deported to Eritrea, Sudan and Mali.

We demand their immediate release without conditions! [Read More]

Utrecht: squatted floors on the Oudegracht 106-108 illegally evicted

Utrecht (Netherlands) – Late Saturday evening the police nevertheless proceeded with an illegal eviction to protect the interests of the owner Caron Realestate & Management BV.

Earlier in the day, squatters had announced that they had been using the upper floors for several days.
In response, the police responded accordingly, and an officer of justice explained to the owner that a procedure will be initiated, that he could file a complain and have his arguments for a possible urgent case reviewed by the investigation judge.
This is a new procedure to get squatters out of a property faster that went into effect on July 1, 2022. [Read More]

Amsterdam: Waldeck Pyrmontlaan 8 resquatted and a second time evicted

On Saturday 5 March, three houses, Waldeck Pyrmontlaan 8 (WP8) in Amsterdam, JC van Hattumweg 3 in Amstelveen, and the Red Door in Utrecht were announced as resquatted. WP8 was evicted a second time the same evening, with 9 arrests. Monday morning, JC van Hattumweg was back in the hands of the owner.
The 9 people arrested at WP8 will be taken to court on Wednesday. The public prosecutor wants their further detention for 14 days and the examining magistrate has to decide whether that’s appropriate. The hearings will not be public and no time is known. Autonomous soli actions are highly appreciated!

Statement from Autonomous Student Struggle – Waldeck Pyrmontlaan resquatted! 5 March 2022

3 days ago, we re-squatted the building on the Waldeck Pyrmontlaan in Amsterdam. Today we announce it publicly. We have been living here again since last Thursday. Today 3 buildings have been re-squatted. We stand in solidarity with our comrades from Elektra Flinta who re-squatted a building in Utrecht and our comrades from the Anarcha Feminist Group Amsterdam who re-squatted the squat in Amstelveen [1]. This action is a response to the evictions done by the police and to create a broader housing struggle. In the past we stated the importance of creating a culture of resistance, today we show that repression will be met with a collective response. For every eviction, new places will be squatted, evictions will be resisted. [Read More]

Amsterdam: Some reflections on the eviction of Waldeck Pyrmontlaan 8

Last Sunday we were evicted from our home after having been there for 5 days. Here are some reflections on what happened. We had a small taste of what could have been when we made Waldeck Pyrmontlaan 8 in Amsterdam our home. Even though the last few days have been hard on us, there were many moments filled with joy and hope. The support and acts of solidarity we received from old and new friends, comrades and neighbours have deeply touched us. After 5 days of occupation and what we thought was a successful public revealing of the squat, we were quickly reminded of what should’ve been so obvious to us; that there is no safety for people like us living under the state and it’s capitalist system. All evictions are a form of violence and Sunday was no exception. We have yet to hear all the stories and experiences surrounding the eviction, and we are only representing our own experiences here. [Read More]

Amsterdam: Statement Squatting action Waldeck Pyrmontlaan 8

[update: Waldeck Pyrmontlaan 8 was evicted on sunday evening 16 January. 8 people got arrested in total, one of them outside the house. Some remained anonymous while in custody. Everybody was released the next day in the afternoon, accused of breaking domestic peace and squatting.]

In the last few months many have been taking action as part of a broader housing struggle. The recent housing demonstrations have revealed that we are massive in numbers, and that there is a urgent need for affordable housing, but the political system is incapable of real and meaningful change.

There is a growing awareness that this struggle needs to be anti-capitalist. A respect for a diversity of tactics is essential in this fight. Housing struggle is class war. We continue this fight here, by collectively taking back a space from those in power. All the wealth in the world is created by the workers, today we take back what is ours, lets bring back the commons.

We have squatted Waldeck Pyrmontlaan 8, and we will use it as a home for houseless students and a political space for Autonomous Student Struggle. In this space, we want to share knowledge that doesn’t rely on opressive power structures and to actively organise against capitalism and the state, for a free world where everyone can live meaningful and fulfilling lives. We are not free until everyone is free.

The housing ‘crisis’ doesn’t exist, scarcity of housing is a myth -the problem is the unequal distribution of wealth. The problem is capitalism. When we squat, we don’t ask politicians to secure our housing needs: we do it ourselves! Rent is theft, all housing should be free, we want a world without private property. [Read More]

Amsterdam: Hotel Mokum is dead, long live Hotel Mokum

Dear Friends,

Let’s start with thank you. The support and solidarity we have received over the past six weeks, but especially this weekend, has been overwhelming. On Saturday, we were harshly evicted, with police brutality and a demonstration of power. More on this later, but for now: so much love for everyone who stood there with us. And especially so much love for the people who voluntarily exposed themselves to state violence, prosecution and very literal physical violence by the police. Many thanks to Extinction Rebellion and Comrade Twingo without whom the eviction would have been a lot easier for the police. Thanks to everyone who helped us ensure that Hotel Mokum could not be quietly swept away. But also thank you to everyone who supported us in any other way, this weekend and for the past six weeks. You are all so amazing and so fucking brave and we couldn’t have done this without you. [Read More]

Paris: Call for a rally in front of the 20th district police station after the eviction of a squat

A building located at 124 rue de Belleville, belonging to the city hall of the 20th district and empty for several years, was squatted to make it an anarcha-feminist space as well as a living space for about ten people. The place was evicted this Wednesday and 8 people are in custody.

For a long time, everything has been done so that the district of Belleville and its surroundings are reserved for the rich. Rents are constantly rising, cheap fast food is replaced by trendy bars and restaurants with ever more expensive drinks, migrant workers’ hostels have been transformed into controlled social residences, the authorities are sending more and more cops into the streets to wage war on the poor, etc. [Read More]

Amsterdam: squat action attempt on Gravenstraat and police brutality

Today 12 september there was an attempt to squat Gravenstraat 26-28 on the day of the Housing Protest. Thousands of people took the streets to demonstrate against the so-called housing crisis – the shortage and exploitation in the housing market, the lack of affordable housing and the disproportionate increase in rents.

The police used excessive force to beat us away from the place that was to become our new home. From the moment we arrived at the demonstration, certain activists were excessively watched by the police and even arrested for wearing an anti-Nazi symbol. From the beginning, the police were out to repress and arrest activists. Police brutality escalated as soon as we arrived at Dam Square. We were beaten up, dragged out of the crowd by silent cops, and some of us were even beaten to the ground and walked over by cops until we were bloody. The police deliberately chose to escalate and we even heard them say that they deliberately “went full on”. [Read More]