Black Flag 210 index
Spyros Dapergolas
Greek Anarchist On Hunger Strike
Spyros Dapergolas was arrested in June 1995, during an unsuccessful bank
robbery. He is still in prison awaiting trial, even though the maximum
period for temporary imprisonment in Greece is 18 months. Spyros started
a hunger strike on November 9 1996. He has already lost 20 kilos and his
health is in danger.
On December 22nd, Spyros wrote from prison "I am on a hunger strike for
44 days. Only a few days before completion of 18th months in jail, a
period full of "constitutional rights", laws, arguments and above all
justice. And the day after these 18 months pass, I'll still be in
prison and no matter how much I try, I can't laugh with my situation.
There should be no doubt of my commitment to fight till the end. I
choose this way, at least to reserve my dignity, not to sit quietly
accepting the brutality and the mechanisms of oppression. The
authorities seem to want to push things to the edge. Perhaps they
believe that I will not be able to keep on going, but bury myself in
silence and isolation. I can promise them that their expectations will
not materialise. Regardless of all the problems, there are those in the
society, who keep the flag of freedom and solidarity high, who laugh at
the face of repression. These people stand by me and these are the
people that I want to have with me.