Amsterdam (The Netherlands): September 2012 Joe’s Garage program

Will Joe’s Garage open 6 days a week in September? Are you ready to give some of your time, put some creativity and subversion into Joe’s? We are waiting for your active participation, there is plenty to do, cooking and helping every monday and thursday with the Volkseten Vegazulu people’s kitchen, running every tuesday the Kraakspreekuur Oost (Squatting Assistance), (de)socializing every wednesday afternoon during the the Lonely Collective Day Cafe, helping out every saturday afternoon at the Give Away Shop, programming, organizing film/info nights every sunday. Come along with your ideas. Click here and get involved at Joe’s Garage. Keep an eye on our program and on Radar, more events will be announced. You also can get involved a bit further in the neighbourhood, at the Valreep, at the Bajesdorp, at the Roomtuintje Oostbos, the recently squatted gardens in the Dapperbuurt, on the Pieter Vlamingstraat 86.

The coming benefits this month: Leonard Peltier,  Screen Print Studio, Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Campaign, Volkskeuken Zeeburgerpad 22, Anarcho Queer Punk Festival. Films to be screened: Incident at Oglala, Diamonds of the Night, The Miners’ Hymns. [Read More]

Birmingham: Homeless campaigners squat council house

Birmingham Tenants & Homeless Action Group have occupied an abandoned council house with the intention of handing it over to a homeless person. They’ve contacted the council and demanded that they put the property back into use as low cost social housing and then do the same with the other nearly 12,000 empty properties around the city. Otherwise they have said that despite changes to the law on squatting they will continue with occupations of the other empty properties with the intention of handing them over to the homeless. With 11,924 empty properties, the highest rate of homelessness in the country and an estimate by city planners that Birmingham is currently short of 11,000 affordable homes, putting the abandoned houses back into use is the only logical step

[Read More]

London: Yet another unlawful eviction

With hours left before squatting in a residential property became illegal; a Territorial support group backing up enforcement officers smashed their way into a residential property in Dalston yesterday and unlawfully evicted the building of its many residents.
[Read More]

UK: Legal challenge to new squatting law

This post is by Leigh Day & Co legal firm who are coordinating the legal challenge and was originally posted on their blog here

A mother of four from Wales is taking legal action challenging the new anti-squatting legislation, coming into force today (1 September 2012), in a bid to stay in the house she has lived in for 11 years with her children.
[Read More]

Zaragoza (Spain): Calls in solidarity with “The roof 11”

Next September 12th, the trial against the comrades known as “The roof 11” will take place in Zaragoza. These 11 people, on the day of the eviction of the CSO (Squatted Social Center) Kike Mur, went up to the roof and resisted there until police came up there to take them down; whilst in the streets, police violence was delighting in tormenting defenceless neighbours who were demanding the permanence of the space. Only three days after the eviction took place, the neighborhood of Torrero had given a joint impressive answer, in which every hit the streets to show their rejection to the eviction of the space, located in the old building of the Torrero prison, and named after the famous prisoner who passed away there. After the demonstration finished, the comrades, feeling strong, went back and re-squatted the space (despite the metal plates put there by the municipality), and police, overwhelmed by the supporting and resisting neighbours, did not have any other choice but to leave the place in humiliation, while the CSO Kike Mur was re-opened for more political activism (further info, in Spanish, on vozcomoarma).

Now, those 11 people arrested on the roof are facing a trial under charges of misappropriation of property corresponding to the Torrero prison, but we affirm the opposite saying that the council have been bribed to take us to court and they now claim to each of them a fine of 20,000 bucks. [Read More]

Poznan (Poland): eviction of the Workshop squat

The Workshop” squat-in-making has been forcibly evicted yesterday (8/29/2012) in Poznań, western Poland by the police, followed by property owner. The announced opening party was planned on Friday, 8/31.
There were ridiculously substantial police forces present (heavily armed SWAT-like squad, which is unprecedented in .pl), local police commanders came to the scene, police brutality occurred.
Eviction legality is disputed, based on fact, that no warrants whatsoever were issued to the squatters before bringing in the police, and that the owner, who remained unknown to-date, didn’t warn the squatters beforehand. That said, squatting is illegal in Poland and further legal prosecution is possible. [Read More]

Thessaloniki (Greece): Texts about the Public Power Corporation’s attempts to cut off Delta squat’s electricity supply

Since late July, Delta squat is being actively repressed by DEI (Public Power Corporation, PPC) that attempts to cut off the space’s electricity supply. The electric power company got the green light from the Alexandreio Technological Education Institute (ATEI) of Thessaloniki, which is the legal owner of the building (squatted for 5 years already).

This squat hosts an array of autonomous political projects that act aggressively towards the existing system of exploitation and try to contribute to individual and social liberation. [Read More]

Girona (CAT): Kan Pons still resist!

[St. Marçal de Quarentelles]

From 2nd of May on the squat Kan Pons still resists against the eviction. There were three times yet when the authorities suspended the eviction-date at the last moment, the last one when we celebrate Agro-Crust (June 29th)…seems they don’ t like the noise so much! But still they’ re going on with their intention to kill the life of the village, the actually forecasted date for the eviction is on October 16th.

It’ s really clearly for us that we won’ t let kick us out so far, we call out to everybody to take part at the WEEK OF RURAL RESISTANCE from OCTOBER 10th to 17th.

[Read More]

England & Wales: Fuck the fucking fuckers

It looks like the squatban will come in on September1 (here’s pretty incontrovertible evidence).

This is .. surprising since there was a silence for a while.

This is … exciting because now there’s going to be some action.

This is … sad because people are probably going to lose their homes and derelict buildings reclaimed for housing are now going to be returned to emptiness.
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Barcelona: The death of an Argentinian squatter

Juan Pablo Torroija was detained in the city of Girona. A few hours later he ended up in hospital. He was beaten and carried marks of strangulation. The police says he hanged himself in his cell. But evidence raises doubts about this version of the facts.

The following is a translation. The original article can be found here: http://www.pagina12.com.ar/diario/sociedad/3-199966-2012-07-31.html
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Bristol: Illegal eviction

There has been an illegal eviction tonight by Avon & Somerset police of 66 Queen Square, a former Building Society, in Bristol City Centre – several people are resisting on the roof overnight – support is needed tonight and tomorrow – including food, water, rope and clothing.
[Read More]

Switzerland: Repression of intersquat festival

A very rough translation of
Suisse: La police pète les plombs… festival intersquat repoussé
:

On Friday, July 27 at Freiburg, between midnight and 2:30 am, following an ultra aggressive “manhunt”, more than 50 people were arrested by riot cops and GRIF: they were batoning anything that moved, including passers-by and people already on the ground, arresting people in cars and trains, in cafes, shopping. There was intimidation by cowboys who watch too many television series (“stand still or I’ll shoot”), heavy use of pepper spray on people on the ground, then taking DNA (illegal under their own laws), keeping people in custody over 6 hours or more than 11 hours for others, creating a security perimeter with inadmissibility of a month (even for people who live within the perimeter). The wounded are many (according to police, there are only wounded in their ranks).
[Read More]