Regarding the appeal lodged against the decision of acquittal
“In Athens today, 27th of March 2018, Tuesday 2pm, at the Public Prosecutor’s office at the Supreme Court of Greece, the Deputy Prosecutor at the Supreme Court Ioannis Aggelis called me, the secretary of the Criminal Devision Georgios Sofroniades, and stated that: he lodges an appeal before the Supreme Court of Greece, in accordance with the article 505, par. 2 of the Criminal Procedure Code, against the 2186/2017 (2938/16, 3303/16, 518/17, 565/17, 580/17) acquittal decision of the A’ five-member Felony Appeal Court of Athens, whereof the accused Anastasios Theofilou was declared innocent”.
That’s the beginning of no. 21/2018 appeal statement, with which the prosecutor Mr. Ioannis Aggelis demands the annulment of the decision of the A’ five-member Appeal Court of Athens, which acquitted me of all charges, and my remand to a new trial with different judges. The prosecutor Mr. Ioannis Aggelis was promoted to the position of Deputy Prosecutor of the Supreme Court. Until then, he was the supervising prosecutor of the “counter-terrorism squad”.
On the 11th of May, the appeal will be examined by a plenary session of the Supreme Court. If accepted, this means that I return to prison with the initial charges until the trial is repeated at the Appeal Court with different judges, given that the majority of the A’ five-member court which acquitted me seems not to be to the liking of the “counter-terrorism squad”. As much as the “counter-terrorism squad” and its surrounding circle of manipulated judges seem to have grown a somewhat obsessive dedication to my face, my case remains a case that is not at all personal. It’s a political one and pertains to the oppressive grip on the anarchist and the wider combative movement as well as our class as a whole. It’s political since all the spearheads of this oppression were revealed socially and brought before social judgment, especially those related to the terror-law, the metaphysical use of DNA samples and the criminalization of social and political relationships. It’s political because it gave prominence to the power and the social influence of the movement; because it proved that the “counter-terrorism squad” and the judicial circles it manipulates are, if uncontrollable, yet not omnipotent. And that’s what needs to be proved once again on the 11th of May.
PS: As once written by a comrade inside the prison of Grevena: “Patience. Strength. Faith in the case. We are in the right. That’s it!”
Tasos Theofilou
translation by @xinchao
