translation by This Is Our Job:<\/i><\/p>\n
In August 2008, Thessaloniki anarchists <\/i>Vangelis Chrysochoidis and Polykarpos Georgiadis were arrested alongside infamous bank robber\u2014and \u201cthe most wanted man in Greece\u201d \u2014Vassilis Palaiocostas. The authorities charged them and others with the kidnapping of powerful industrialist Giorgos Mylonas, which took place that summer and ended with Mylonas\u2019 \u201crelease\u201d in exchange for a ransom of 5 million euros. <\/i>Georgiadis has written a number of open letters (<\/i>here<\/a>, <\/i>here<\/a>, and <\/i>here<\/a>), but Chrysochoidis hasn’t because\u2014like Simos Seisidis, for example\u2014he has no interest in doing so and doesn\u2019t really consider himself a \u201cman of letters.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n The trial for the kidnapping began on February 2, 2010 and ended with sentences of 22 years and 3 months in prison for both <\/i>Chrysochoidis and Georgiadis, which sentences took into account a number of robberies they were also charged with. A brief summary of the trial can be read (in Spanish) <\/i>here<\/a>, while Palaiocostas\u2019 open letter in support of the two comrades is <\/i>here<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n Chrysochoidis statement to the court has already been translated into English <\/i>here<\/a>, but <\/i>Georgiadis’ statement hasn\u2019t yet appeared anywhere in English. More recently, the comrades’ appeal hearing<\/i> (summaries of which can be read <\/i>here<\/a> and <\/i>here<\/a>, ran from April 24 to May 16, 2012,\u00a0 and ended with each of their sentences being reduced to 12 years and 10 months.<\/i><\/p>\n Georgiadis<\/b>: Even if you think I\u2019m making an apologia, and while the word \u201capologia\u201d has a specific connotation, I consider my words to be a kind of defense\u2014not just regarding the legal aspect, but also concerning my political identity and political positions, which I believe are playing a decisive role in my situation. That I now find myself in the dock is a function of my political discourse and political positions of approximately the past 15 years of belonging to this milieu. Therefore, I first want to touch on some things that have already been mentioned here by witnesses, the plaintiff, and you. I\u2019ll also comment on two or three other things beyond the legal aspect of the case.<\/p>\n First, I think it\u2019s a bit ridiculous that here we have a plaintiff\u2014especially Mr. Mylonas, who represents a specific social class, that of the industrialists and the National Bank, which has literally stripped bare all of Greek society, not personally, but as social classes, since they have driven the people to unemployment and bankruptcy, since they have driven the people to suicide over the debts they created through their usurious loans and all their criminal activities, because I certainly consider capitalism a crime\u2014who has come to ask a bunch of working people for even the symbolic sum of 54 euros. Take a look at my assets. \u201cYou will get nothing from he who has nothing,\u201d like Lucian said\u2014that \u201cVoltaire of antiquity,\u201d according to comrade Marx.<\/p>\n Apart from that, one of Mylonas\u2019 phrases left an impression on me. He came here and said: \u201cA crime has been committed, and the culprits must be found so they can pay for it.\u201d According to bourgeois rights\u2014and when I say \u201cbourgeois rights\u201d I\u2019m not referring to rights in their legal sense, but rather to the rights imposed by the bourgeois class in order to perpetuate the specific production model of capitalism, to perpetuate what they call \u201cthe social peace\u201d\u2014that could in some way be correct. I don\u2019t sanctify crime. There are crimes and there are crimes. To me, crime is nothing sacred, although I don\u2019t agree with the term \u201ccrime.\u201d Most criminals, in my humble opinion, commit antisocial \u201ccrimes\u201d in the context of a particular kind of civil war. The poor steal from the poor, they snatch purses from old ladies, they rape. Prison is full of people like that. Vassilis Palaiocostas is on a different level. I will return to this subject later on when I talk about how we know each other.<\/p>\n I want to talk about other crimes that have been committed and for which culprits must be found\u2014the culprits, in my opinion, being the entire capitalist class and its servants. The culprits must be found and punished, obviously not through some bourgeois justice, but rather at the hands of social revolution, of which I am a part.<\/p>\n Since Vangelis recited a beautiful poem by Lord Byron, I have remembered a poem by Bertold Brecht. I believe Vangelis already quoted Brecht\u2019s classic aphorism: \u201cWho is the greater criminal: he who robs a bank or he who founds one?\u201d And of course, in my opinion, the act of founding a bank is the much greater antisocial crime. So, Brecht wrote:<\/p>\n The headlong stream is termed violent And not just on the roads. In the factories. Everywhere.<\/p>\n Comrade Vangelis mentioned some Europe-wide statistical data. I researched and found some other statistics to see which is the greater crime. In my opinion, \u201cworkplace accidents\u201d and \u201cworkplace disasters\u201d don\u2019t exist. What exists are murdered workers. At this very moment, a world war is taking place throughout the planet, yet the prevailing ideology doesn\u2019t recognize it as such. It is a class war with many dead, many injured and maimed. I\u2019m going to cite some statistics: globally, each year there are 2.2 million deaths, 250 million injuries and maimings, and 160 million illnesses\u2014the so-called \u201coccupational diseases\u201d\u2014that are all workplace-related. In the 19th century, when a very potent workers\u2019 movement developed in the U.S. and often asserted itself quite violently, all the capitalists of the era met\u2014like Morgan, Rockefeller, etc.\u2014and formed the so-called Iron Alliance. It was the era of the \u201crailroad miracle,\u201d and most workplace murders occurred in that sector. So at the time, the Iron Alliance expressed the opinion that workplace accidents were the will of God, that God himself caused them. It wasn\u2019t the miserable conditions that killed so many people, nor the fact that in order to increase the accumulation of their wealth the bosses didn\u2019t take adequate safety measures. Rather, it was simply the will of God!<\/p>\n Very little has changed since then. The \u201cwill of God\u201d concept invented by Morgan and Rockefeller was adopted by unionists. Imagine it: unionists! The reason for this war is specific, as specific as the reason for so many deaths: the hyperaccumulation of wealth. The hyperaccumulation of wealth means a hyperintensification of poverty. The capitalist class hasn\u2019t just declared war on workers, it has declared war on all humanity. I\u2019m going to cite a few more statistics. To me, the statistical data constitutes an arithmetic of capitalist terror. One billion people die of hunger and malnutrition, and 5 million children under five years old die from acute malnutrition. A certain sociologist by the name of Ziegler says: \u201cEach child who dies of hunger dies murdered. Hunger is a crime against humanity.\u201d Who are the criminals? Within bourgeois rights there is obviously no provision to punish these criminals. When I say \u201cpunish\u201d I don\u2019t mean \u201ckill.\u201d For me, the most correct punishment would be social revolution\u2014the expropriation of wealth and its equitable distribution in such a way that wealth becomes a social asset. In other words, communism. I certainly belong to the antiauthoritarian milieu, but there are different currents. I in particular am an anarchist-communist. I believe in the equitable distribution of social wealth and the collectivization of the means of production.<\/p>\n Presiding Judge<\/b>: A very specific charge is being dealt with here. Fine, you\u2019ve said what you\u2019ve said. Now you must connect it to the acts you are charged with.<\/p>\n Georgiadis<\/b>: To me, bringing this affair to a close is a political matter. In addition, Marcuse\u2014mentioned earlier by the civil plaintiff\u2014was a Marxist, not an anarchist. This war waged by capitalism against all humanity sometimes takes the form of intense clashes, like the war in Iraq, the bombardment of Yugoslavia, and the situation in Gaza\u2014where comrade Vangelis P. himself has also been as part of the Free Gaza organization, one of whose missions was attacked with gunfire by the Israelis.<\/p>\n It also takes the form of a cold war with a specific purpose\u2014like I said, the hyperaccumulation of wealth. And at this very moment, all these deaths from hunger and all these dead children are caused by a single factor: the cruel exploitation and plundering of natural resources from the third world. Capitalism commits this crime and there are definitely physical perpetrators. And the most just punishment for this crime is obviously not murder. It is communism.<\/p>\n In my opinion, this is about a conflict between two worlds. Though the matter of solidarity has often been mentioned here, the world we live in right now\u2014the world of capital\u2014is a world of swine. When a capitalist or some servant of this system talks about solidarity, they have a corpse in their mouth. They don\u2019t have anything in mind like, let\u2019s say, a \u201cSocial Solidarity Ministry.\u201d But another world does also exist: the world of solidarity. That\u2019s the society we are trying to build, a society of mutual aid and solidarity. It\u2019s true that, in itself, the form that solidarity can take expresses itself in many different ways. But when we say that word, we certainly believe in it.<\/p>\n Now I will begin to detail a brief r\u00e9sum\u00e9. I linked up with the antiauthoritarian milieu during the early years of my adolescence after a short period\u2014though to say it better it was a \u201cflirtation\u201d and not a period, because I was never a member of the KNE,* but there was indeed a \u201cflirtation\u201d\u2014with the communist youth. I distanced myself from them in 1995 because of the disgusting position taken at the time by the KKE against the Polytechnic occupation, which happened at the same time as the prison riots.<\/p>\n In my opinion, the Communist Party position against the radical milieu was repulsive. I therefore got closer to the antiauthoritarian milieu. I clearly remember when, on November 14 of that same year, a march in Thessaloniki was attacked by the police and occupied the Theology Department. That was my first contact with the antiauthoritarian milieu. I was there with others from my school, and we stayed for a few hours.<\/p>\n From that moment, I began to be active in the antiauthoritarian movement, which has many modes of expression, even though everyone only associates it with Molotovs and camping gas bombs. I don\u2019t deny it. I\u2019m telling you the truth: I don\u2019t reject those forms of action. The antiauthoritarian movement simply has many forms. It holds talks, demonstrations, and marches; releases books and pamphlets; participates in labor struggles despite the vileness of the management of GSEE, ADEPY, etc. It is present and it takes part. It confronts fascists, and that is a large part of its activity. I certainly remember the seven stitches I received after a fight we had with Golden Dawn in Aristotelous Square. And I\u2019m not sorry about it.<\/p>\n Presiding Judge<\/b>: You gave it to them as well?<\/p>\n Georgiadis<\/b>: As much as we could. Yes, we left them with something. Of course we wound up with a draw, more or less.<\/p>\n I didn\u2019t come here to portray myself as a nonviolent person. You must simply understand that revolutionary antiviolence extends up to a very specific point. There is a revolutionary ethic, a code of values.<\/p>\n Presiding Judge<\/b>: This is about a specific crime. I think you\u2019ve already said enough.<\/p>\n Georgiadis<\/b>: It\u2019s never enough.<\/p>\n Presiding Judge<\/b>: Alright sir, this is not the place for jokes. We have specific things to talk about.<\/b><\/p>\n Georgiadis<\/b>: In 2004 they arrested me on charges of attempted arson of a private security vehicle. I\u2019m not going to mention which company it was, as I don\u2019t want to give them the publicity. So, I entered preventive detention at Korydallos, and there I met Vassilis Palaiocostas. Anyway, Vassilis walked up to me one time and told me: \u201cCome to my cell.\u201d I was initially impressed by his library. When I entered his cell I saw that library, with Nietzsche, with many things. I say this because you had asked me before about my literary knowledge. Vassilis Palaiocostas is someone who only finished primary school, but he educated himself. From then on, we were in constant discussion. I remember him talking about Dostoyevsky and Nietzsche. He adored Nietzsche. On an \u201cideological\u201d level, Vassilis was part of what Hobsbawm called \u201cprimitive rebellion\u201d and \u201csocial banditry.\u201d Vangelis P. mentioned some books on the subject. I can mention Rebel Tradition and Popular Culture<\/i>. There is a tradition in society, in those we call \u201ctraditionally rural\u201d or \u201cagrarian.\u201d The thieves of 1821 were also bank robbers. The first action of the Greek Revolution of 1821 didn\u2019t happen on March 25 but on March 15, when the thieves robbed the tax collection houses. So in any case, Vassilis forms part of that tradition. He himself has a few books on the subject and we had many discussions. He is someone who Aravantinos would have called \u201ca born antiauthoritarian.\u201d Not politically. He is an antiauthoritarian in the social sense of the definition and not in a narrowly political sense.<\/p>\n I somehow became linked to Vassilis. In prison we took part in shared struggles. There was an abstention from prison food at that time. In any event, a different kind of relationship developed, a relationship of friendship that continued even after I got out. In February 2005, I stood trial in Serres and they decided to release me. I returned to Korydallos and left him my cell phone, and we stayed in touch. I sent him books and any money I could. I kept working the same job I had prior to my arrest.<\/p>\n Presiding Judge<\/b>: Where?<\/p>\n Georgiadis<\/b>: At a store. More accurately, two clothing stores. Regardless, they belong to the same person and are both on Tsimiski Street. I don\u2019t want to give them any publicity.<\/p>\n Presiding Judge<\/b>: As a salesperson?<\/p>\n Georgiadis<\/b>: At any rate, Vassilis would call me on the phone and that\u2019s how we maintained our friendship. He wouldn\u2019t call me often, just once a month. In 2006, I no longer remember which month, I heard on the news that there was a spectacular\u2014so they said\u2014escape by helicopter involving Rizai. Obviously, we celebrated accordingly. Some friends and I went out and we were celebrating together with everyone, because Vassilis Palaiocostas enjoys social acceptance. Yes, that \u201ccriminal\u201d character enjoys social acceptance as a descendant of social banditry, which of course is rooted in this very society. All those legendary dimensions didn\u2019t arise purely by chance. I remember that day we went out to paint slogans and had some undercovers on our tail, as usual, because after my adventure I almost always had undercovers in front of my house. I naturally had no contact with Vassilis during this period until, I believe in early 2007, he called me and said we should meet. We met somewhere, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s of any use to say where, and he said: \u201cPolis, if you would be able to help me, I\u2019m thinking about settling in Thessaloniki, as there aren\u2019t many police there.\u201d Well, at that time there weren\u2019t many. He asked me to rent him a house. I told him: \u201cYou could come to my house, but there are undercovers in front all the time.\u201d He said: \u201cI\u2019m going to get you a fake ID that you\u2019ll be able to use to rent something without getting into any trouble yourself.\u201d That\u2019s how it went. It took me a little while to find something because he gave me certain characteristics that the house should have, and I finally rented one in Peraia.<\/p>\n Presiding Judge<\/b>: And the undercovers in front of your house never found out about any of this? You rented the houses so easily?<\/p>\n Georgiadis<\/b>: Four months prior, a comrade from around there caught someone from the intelligence service in front of his house and handed him over to the police. I warned Vassilis that I was having problems with the undercovers.<\/p>\n Vangelis was needed to buy things. I asked him to help me, and he expressed his willingness. I told him the whole truth because I trusted him. I met Vangelis in 2001. We were part of the same milieu, in the same political circles, and I had confidence in him. At some point Vangelis told me: \u201cI want to meet your friend.\u201d Because there was also a need to socialize.<\/p>\n I went to the video store only once to rent some tapes.<\/p>\n Presiding Judge<\/b>: The police say you were a member there.<\/p>\n Georgiadis<\/b>: There was a membership card, you can verify that. I went there only once, but of course it\u2019s quite telling that the video store employee never testified here. Instead, a police officer said the employee recognized me without a shred of doubt. Taking into account the hundreds of customers that employee saw each day, she saw me just once. I believe that this matter of recognizing me \u201cwithout a shred of doubt\u201d owes itself to the coaxing of the police, as well as to many other factors. Since we\u2019re now mentioning that statement, let\u2019s also mention the statement by the employee at the Masoutis supermarket, where the attempted armored car robbery took place. The supermarket employee said: \u201cI didn\u2019t notice the make of the car.\u201d But later they got him to mention a Toyota RAV4. He also said: \u201cI didn\u2019t say those things. Perhaps other witnesses said them and the police attributed them to me.\u201d We were all here. This shows the manner in which the police operate, a manner very different to what society believes. All of that happened here, right in front of our eyes, and I don\u2019t think anyone questions it. We overlooked what the man said\u2014\u201cI didn\u2019t say those things\u201d\u2014without attributing any importance to it.<\/p>\n Presiding Judge<\/b>: How did we overlook it? Wasn\u2019t everything transcribed? Every detail is taken into consideration.<\/p>\n Georgiadis<\/b>: You overlooked it by failing to say: \u201cCome now, sir. Who took down your statement? How could there be things in your statement that you didn\u2019t say?\u201d<\/p>\n Presiding Judge<\/b>: Were there weapons at the house in Peraia?<\/p>\n Georgiadis<\/b>: Look, I didn\u2019t see any weapons or explosives. Also, according to what the police revealed, the weapons were carefully hidden. I didn\u2019t see weapons at the house in Peraia or at the house in Aghia Paraskevi. Of course, I clearly knew that Vassilis was doing illegal things, right? I certainly took into consideration that there were weapons. Let\u2019s not discuss if the houses were \u201cclean\u201d or not right now. I kept it in mind, but I didn\u2019t ask. The fact is that I was aware, and all my history with Palaiocostas indicates that I was conscious of the dangers. Solidarity means all of that.<\/p>\n So in this case here, we have to psychologically interpret certain things. In other words, we have to interpret the psychological process behind how certain choices came to be made. In his initial statement, Mr. Mylonas said: \u201cThe one who grabbed me, the young one, was sitting next to me in the jeep like I told you. He was a very kind boy, thin, about 1.85\u20131.90 meters in height. He spoke Greek very well. He had to have been less than 25 years old.\u201d All this subjective evidence described by Mr. Mylonas\u2014apart from the bit about being \u201ckind,\u201d which is relative\u2014has no validity. Nor does any of the objective evidence. Look, I’m 1.70, let’s say 1.76 with shoes on. \u201cAbout 1.85\u20131.90\u201d is way off. Someone 1.85 or 1.90 is someone very tall. I’m of medium height. That’s a big difference, and of course Mylonas mentioned that the perpetrator sitting next to him in the jeep had a relaxed grip on him. Alright, nor will I comment on that \u201cyoung man who was less than 25 years old\u201d remark, as I was 30 at the time. \u201cThin.\u201d There are photos from when they arrested me, there are photos in the cameras they seized from us, photos of the entire media spectacle staged by the police, as well as my physical details from Ioannina Prison. I weighed about 80 kilograms then. 1.75 meters tall and a weight of 80 kilograms. No one would call that \u201cthin.\u201d Therefore, such a thing cannot be deduced from all that \u201cevidentiary proof.\u201d<\/p>\n Then Mr. Mylonas mentioned something in his statement, and right there is where the psychological process of \u201cselection by convenience\u201d enters. On seeing how his statement was being taken apart, Mylonas tried to cover the gaps in order to substantiate it. He said that, three or four times, this perpetrator entered the tent where they were keeping him and asked: \u201cWhat’s going on Georgi, are you alright? Do you want me to bring you anything?\u201d And so on. In his first statement\u2014I imagine you’ve read it\u2014nowhere does it appear that this tall young man entered the tent. He mentioned two other people who certainly did enter: Vassilis Palaiocostas and Asimakis Lazaridis, the latter of whom testified regarding this matter. In his second statement he also said that he recognized Asimakis. And he did so because that way of asking \u201cWhat’s going on Georgi?\u201d is very characteristic. I don’t think everyone asked him \u201cWhat’s going on Georgi?\u201d He attributed it to Palaiocostas and suddenly he came to the courtroom here to say that I said it. When the evidence about my height fell apart, suddenly he remembered that \u201cthe perpetrator wore sneakers.\u201d Now that’s something: sneakers with a 15 centimeter sole! That really clears things up for us. First class. And when did he say it? Eighteen months after his statement about my height was shown to be invalid right here in this courthouse, he accepted the help offered by the police\u2014that little push\u2014and he said: \u201cAlright boys, during the course of the entire incident, in all the confusion, there could have been some mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n And therefore we are facing a psychological phenomenon here, one of collective autosuggestion. Because we also have one other statement: that of Mrs. Mylonas. And her second statement, taken we don’t know when. Because Mrs. Mylonas gave her statement\u2014this much I do know\u2014one day after the kidnapping, while her husband gave his after they released him. Thus, we have two very similar statements that refer to a young man 1.85 or 1.90 meters in height, two statements consequently related to each other. So this is either a case of collective autosuggestion, or they were actually telling the truth in their initial statements. Additionally, Mrs. Mylonas didn’t appear here in person. She was represented and she refused to recognize us. On the other hand, I think Mr. Mylonas . . .<\/p>\n Presiding Judge<\/b>: There is a difference between \u201cshe refused to recognize us\u201d and \u201cshe didn’t recognize us.\u201d<\/p>\n Georgiadis<\/b>: She didn\u2019t recognize us and I\u2019m guessing that Mr. Mylonas was coaxed into recognizing us when we were at the police station. And according to what he told the police, \u201cin all the confusion, there could have been some mistake.\u201d Which features did Mylonas recognize? Height and voice. Why was there a mistake in his testimony regarding height and not voice? Especially when recognizing someone by their voice is more common? I\u2019m asking myself this. There the coaxing of the police wasn\u2019t so successful. Also, Mr. Mylonas stated that I drove the BMW during the trip to release him. The lawyers have submitted documentation to you corroborating that I do not drive. I\u2019ve only commuted by bicycle, and that was when I was in school. Never in my life have I driven a car. Apart from that, there is another little thing Mr. Mylonas said. In his statement he made frequent reference to an Albanian, someone who was speaking Albanian, so be careful here, because this wasn\u2019t about someone who simply had an Albanian accent. Nevertheless, Mr. Mylonas stated that he was sure it was an Albanian, and he also said: \u201cGiven my line of work, I have often spoken with Albanians.\u201d He stated that he was sure. I am going to demonstrate one more point that is also very revealing, just one more point. He said: \u201cAt some point, we stopped and the one who was speaking Albanian got out. One of the perpetrators who spoke poor Greek asked him: \u2018Have you brought the bag?\u2019\u201d This is a very revealing point, and it makes an impression on me. I also think that right here Mr. Mylonas has shown that he knows how to speak Greek very well. And you know, just like I know, that \u201cspeaking Albanian\u201d\u2014I\u2019ll repeat it again\u2014has a very clear meaning. It doesn\u2019t mean that someone has an Albanian accent. \u201cSpeaking Albanian\u201d means that this person was speaking in Albanian. Therefore, during the first few days, Mr. Mylonas was sure that there was an Albanian around. And I\u2019m also going to add the testimony of the police officer who saw two men dressed as police officers when the ransom money was handed over. In his statement he said he saw license plates registered in Kor\u00e7\u00eb\u2014so, from Albania. He then came here and said he saw no such thing. . . . Here, in this courtroom, statements made during the preliminary hearing are suddenly being changed. You should consider that.<\/p>\n So, apart from these two psychological phenomena I\u2019ve mentioned, I will point out one more. When the representative of an industrialist or a banker shows up and shouts \u201cthieves! thieves!,\u201d that is called \u201ccounterbalancing syndrome\u201d in psychology. The professional thieves come and accuse others of being crooks. This is a process of psychological self-defense.<\/p>\n We must also see a number of metaphysical phenomena here, with an Albanian ghost mentioned in 20 testimonies by all kinds of people. Mr. Mylonas mentioned him, the police, those who took the witness stand. And suddenly the guy disappears! Where has he gone? Vangelis was made to take his place. That\u2019s simply the way it looks, since \u201cthe medium\u2019s\u201d spectacles have made it the latest thing. The Albanian suddenly disappears and Vangelis appears in his place, then the \u201cthe tall guy\u201d disappears and I appear. Abruptly, just like that. Suddenly, after 18 months, Mr. Mylonas remembers that at the time \u201coh, yes, the guy wore thick-soled sneakers.\u201d And nothing happens. And I get the impression that loads of witnesses haven\u2019t made an appearance here, and in their place came a bunch of police officers to say what they told those witnesses to say. Let\u2019s call it a matter of secondhand or thirdhand information. No witnesses appeared who were able to confirm certain things, like the video store employee who\u2014I say\u2014could have said: \u201cYes, I know him, he came there.\u201d In her place a police officer shows up and says: \u201cThe witness has told us that she often saw him.\u201d You have the video store membership card in the preliminary hearing file, you have it at your disposal and can thus see that the tapes were rented just once, on the same day of the arrest or one day before.<\/p>\n Police officers came here to state rumors and their reflections and associations of ideas. That\u2019s not a solution. They came to say what their conclusions are. Just like what happened with the summons they issued to those who took part in the robberies\u2014in other words, \u201cwe haven\u2019t found anything, so come on, let\u2019s charge five or six people.\u201d They found four people and they want to judge all of them. \u201cWho could it be?\u201d Vangelis. And it doesn\u2019t matter, for example, that Vangelis was doing his job at the workshop that day. \u201cHow many more are we missing?\u201d Two. Let\u2019s get Vangelis and Polykarpos. Oh, they\u2019re missing three? Let\u2019s also get Lazaridis. But based on what evidence? None of the witnesses, not a single one, recognized any of us. In the end, what is this objective evidence connecting us to these acts? Because if this is all a function of the rumors and conclusions going around here, I can tell you that in prison I have also heard many rumors and associations of ideas about businessmen and many others.<\/p>\n Prosecutor<\/b>: Considering the fury you\u2019re nourishing . . .<\/p>\n Georgiadis<\/b>: It\u2019s not fury, it\u2019s my political position and worldview.<\/p>\n Prosecutor<\/b>: Nevertheless, you are calling them professional thieves. If that isn\u2019t indicative of fury, I don\u2019t know what else it could be.<\/p>\n Georgiadis<\/b>: No, that\u2019s not it for me. What it indicates is my political position.<\/p>\n Prosecutor<\/b>: Given that \u201cpolitical position\u201d in quotes, as well as the \u201cfury\u201d that I will also put in quotes; given these descriptions, perhaps you can tell me: \u201cIs there anything that would prevent you from taking part in the organized abduction of a man like this, a person like him, with the aim of demanding a ransom? In other words, \u201ckidnapping him,\u201d like you said.<\/p>\n Georgiadis<\/b>: I mentioned at the beginning of my apologia that, for the political milieu I belong to, it\u2019s not a question of expropriating or stealing from a specific person\u2014a capitalist\u2014but rather expropriating the bourgeois class in its totality and arriving at communism. That\u2019s what I want to say. Individual expropriation also forms part of a code of values within the antiauthoritarian milieu. Apart from that, there is a big difference between expropriation, theft, and murder, like the witness K. mentioned. There is definitely an enormous difference. A kidnapping can contain within itself the eventuality of murder. The anarchist movement and the communist movement are movements that emerged politically in the 19th<\/sup> century. They have very specific roots. And the roots of both these movements, which were once united, are deeply human. In each case their origins were deeply human. We can find in them roots that emerge from ancient Greek philosophy, from the Cynic and Epicurean philosophers. I am more with the Epicureans, despite the fact that most anarchists are much more sympathetic to the Cynics. The roots of the antiauthoritarian movement emerged from the Illumination and from the Christian sects that embraced mysticism and resisted the Catholic Church in the 15th<\/sup> and 16th<\/sup> centuries. And they are deeply human. To me, it\u2019s a question of social revolution.<\/p>\n Prosecutor<\/b>: How can that take place?<\/p>\n Georgiadis<\/b>: You want to know how social revolution can happen?<\/p>\n Presiding Judge<\/b>: Well, Mr. Prosecutor, are you having a dialogue?<\/p>\n Prosecutor<\/b>: What do you think, through what actions can social revolution be brought about?<\/p>\n Georgiadis<\/b>: It\u2019s not possible individually. Creating a radical . . . (the prosecutor as well as the presiding judge continually interrupt him) . . . this happens above all through social processes. In short, there is a political concept called voluntarism. Voluntarism means that social revolution can come about through individual actions. However, that\u2019s not enough. Social revolution requires very specific social processes.<\/p>\n *Greek Communist Youth, the youth wing of the KKE (Greek Communist Party).<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" translation by This Is Our Job: In August 2008, Thessaloniki anarchists Vangelis Chrysochoidis and Polykarpos Georgiadis were arrested alongside infamous bank robber\u2014and \u201cthe most wanted man in Greece\u201d \u2014Vassilis Palaiocostas. The authorities charged them and others with the kidnapping of … Continue reading
\nBut the river bed hemming it in is
\nTermed violent by no one.
\nThe storm that bends the birch trees
\nIs held to be violent
\nBut how about the storm
\nThat bends the backs of the roadworkers?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n