action against police brutality

hola!

this weekend we're doing a special solidarity action against police brutality. it's been prompted by the treatment of comrades in moscow, russia. come along to show solidarity and partake in delish food at the same time!

below is a message from russia:

Wrongful deeds of police do not surprise anyone in today's Russia. Disregard of law, violation of rights, illegal detention and searching are by now considered business as usual.

4th of April 7 peaceful young men were beaten up and illegally arrested by police in Moscow near Sokolniki subway station. These persons were not resisting arrest, as videos made by their friends and other eyewitnesses prove. The only thing they made to protest against the illegal arrests was merely forming a chain and demanding from police to abide laws.

Due to this "crime" (which unlike actions of the police, does not contradict any law), the cops started knocking the guys down, beating them with batons, kicking them, using electroschokers and handcuffs, as if people in front of them were not innocent youth but especially
dangerous criminals.

During the following hours, cops were brutally torturing the arrested guys, 3 minors included, in the Sokolniki police-station Arrested were
beaten with batons, kicked, beaten with chairs, their heads were beaten to walls and they were given electric shocks all around the body, head and groin included. While torturing, cops lavished chauvinist and racist comments. One of the tortured guys got a heart attack from electric shock, but he was not given any proper medical care.

When the parents of the persons arrested came to the station, cops told them that "nobody was even touched at the station" and all the injures were received in a street fight (which cops claimed in media they had prevented). Arrested did not got their property back, passport of one of the detained persons is still held by the police.

All hospitals which were approached by the tortured youth refused to record wounds, as required by the law, as doctors learned that wounds were result of police brutality. This in order to make it impossible for the tortured to sue police. Apparently police has such a well-established pattern of "cooperation" with the health care system. Police also started criminal investigations against the tortured, statute "Violent resistance against a police officer" is a felony with a sentence of up to 5 years in prison.

We are already aware that such practices happen in this (and many other) police stations, and not the first time. Many crimes are "solved" with such a way, as police is demanded a stable percent of solved crimes by their superiors, innocent people keep being arrested and are forced to sign testimony against themselves by torture.

In most of the cases victims are afraid to sue police, as they are afraid of them and are certain that there is no way to gain justice through the system. Officials got used to all of this for a long time ago, and they are reigning in impunity. And more there are such cases, more confident the criminals in grey uniforms feel themselves.

This Friday 11th of April in Slavyanskiy square of Moscow 7 PM there will be a big demonstration against police brutality, to support those tortured by police in Sokolniki police station and all victims of the police brutality in our city!

We ask you to support a week against police brutality from 11th to 20th of April! We ask you to make a picket of solidarity or other action for victims of the police brutality in Russia at the local Russian embassy or in any other place in your city!

Right now no-one is safe from police brutality in Russia. As the case in Sokolniky proved, whoever of us may become a victim of illegal acts from "defenders of the order".

We want, that all this was not merely ignored!