Protest in solidarity w/ anarchist Abtin Parsa

via Enough is enough

Amsterdam: Report back the solidarity protest in solidarity with the persecuted anarchist Abtin Parsa

Amsterdam. Netherlands. On Tuesday the 8th of September at 14:00 we gathered outside the IND office on the Pieter Callandlaan 1 in Amsterdam. We were there with pamphlets, banners and protest signs and some black / red flags. At that moment we were there with more than 10 people. After several minutes two bastard cops arrive on bikes, 1 of them is the neighborhood cop from police station Postjesweg and he immediately makes it clear that the protest was not registered and that it is illegal and that everyone will get a 250 euro fine. We managed to gain some time by stating that we would discuss amongst ourselves what we would do. The cop left but stayed in the area. We used this moment to continue handing out pamphlets and by continuing the protest. It was discussed that the Bastard cop probably meant what he said and that problems would be very likely.

Submitted to Enough 14.


After 15 minutes the cop returned and we told him that we would break up the protest and that everyone would be on their way. The bastard seemed to have a different opinion, a security guard from the IND building spoke to the cop and was pointing out some people from our group, it was not clear what it was about. People were getting ready to leave but then the cops started harassing people in the group. It was not clear why. In the meantime more people arrived and we were with about 20 people. The harassment of comrades was of course not appreciated and there was some pulling and pushing back and forth with the cops. After this ended and more people were leaving the cop jumped on his bike and together with a cop on a motorbike they sped away. Because we didn’t trust it we followed them, and around the corner, 150 meters away the bastards have thrown two people to the ground and are in the process of arresting them. Quickly more cops arrive and also several neighbors start intervening and criticize the heavy handed arrests. Also now scuffles break out and things get pretty out of hand, a third person is arrested. At this point there are 8 cops and more are on their way, it is unclear if a call for assistance has been made. The remaining group gets pushed out of the street and decides to disperse. it is unclear if a call for assistance has been made. The remaining group gets pushed out of the street and decides to disperse. it is unclear if a call for assistance has been made. The remaining group gets pushed out of the street and decides to disperse.

Around 7 oçlock the first arrestee is released and the hours following the other two also get released. The arestees did not receive a fine or a summons on their release. It was stated (not in writing) that the charge was for insulting a police officer. All 3 were identified, the last one was kept in foreign detention for a short while but they managed to find out her identity anway and released her shortly after.

We, the Anarchist Group Amsterdam, purposely decided not to notify the municipality of Amsterdam of this protest. We assumed we would never have been given permission to have a demo outside of the IND office anyway. We also strongly disagree with registering protests, demonstrations etc, and with this to ask permission from the state if we can protest or not and how we are supposed to do it. We also did not expect this many people to show up, because on a weekday at 2 oclock people often have other things to do (work / study) and we predicted that we would be able to get away with it in a small group. Unfortunately not. Something we did consider (are considering) is that there is a lot of police in Amsterdam and there is quite some overcapacity because the bastards don’t have much to do in times of Covid and are mostly busy giving out fines to young people throwing house parties. This while during this pandemic the shopping streets, shops, companies and distribution centers are overcrowded. Because of the large numbers of cops in Amsterdam they can act quickly and aggressively. In a very short time a large number of cops can be brought together and they can act outside of the law.

We have written before about organizing protests during the Covid pandemic and finding out what the possibilities are is a process of trial and error and through collective action we need to eventually find a new praxis. https://www.agamsterdam.org/verslag-van-protest-in-solidariteit-met-de-anarchist-abtin-parsa/

Because of the events that took place on Tuesday December the 8th we are even more convinced of the necessity and importance of taking direct action. In solidarity with those that resist the state and Capital, everywhere and always!

Anarchist Group Amsterdam / Free Bond

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