Spanish anarchists Fernando Perez and Carlos Martinez, English activist Simon Chapman, Syrian political refugee Sulaiman Dakdouk -"Kastro" who has lived and struggled in Greece for the past 14 years and demonstrator Spiros Tsitsas have been held without trial in the prison of Diavata since June 21, while demonstrator Dimitris Fliouras and comrade Michalis Traikapis are being held in the juvenile prison of Avlona". They are 7 of the 29 strugglers arrested at Thessaloniki during the demonstration against the conference of the European Summit taking place in Halkidiki (June 19-21), because they chose the road of resistance against the supranational formations of dominion and the projects of their representatives. Their imprisonment without trial, with no proof apart from statements by the cops, renders them hostages on behalf of all those who mobilized against the summit, is a price to be paid for the attacks against the symbols of capital and the clashes with the police, and an attempt to scare all those who came out into the streets in force against the structures of globalization on the eve of the 2004 Olympic games.

They are hostages for all those who don't perceive "globalization" as just another abstraction that takes place somewhere far, effecting only other people's lives, but as a violent project to redefine social conditions at a planetary level, which also passed through Thessaloniki. For all those who do not make a distinction between military invasions in the peripheries of the centres of capital and the war taking place within them. For all those who realize that the "red zone" is an objective that did not stop at Marmara of Halkidiki but projected itself into the centre of the barricaded city - at the same time as the supreme political personnel of "strong united Europe" were gathered to organise the imminent plunder of its most recent prey, Irak and its rich productive sources, but also to synchronise the increment in social control, repression and exploitation within Europe itself and a great sealing of borders against immigrants. All those who did not trap themselves in the patriotic parade of the stalinist leftovers and have actively doubted the logic of a movement of gutless "anti-globalisation" which has been financed by State contributions and co-ordinated with the authorities. All those who saw Thessaloniki as one step in the struggle after Seattle, Prague, Genoa, Barcelona, Evian and recently Cancun and Rome. For all of us who acted in such a way in order that the road of contestation and rebellion remains open.

We who were present at Thessaloniki through the various activities and were part of the black bloc in the demonstration of Saturday 21/6, know that the battle we participated in is not over. The local version of the international "anti"terrorist campaign undoubtedly includes the intensification of the repressive attack against all those who carry out strong resistance in the streets.

From the violent dispersion of the concentrations of protest (such as that of the inhabitants of north-east Attiki against the creation of a refuse disposal unit in their area), to cops attacking demonstrations of inhabitants who react against the destruction of the environment (for example against the creation of KYT-high voltage electricity plant- at Hemitos), to the penalisation of strikes, mass raids related to demonstrations against the war and the march of April 16 against the European conference in Athens, the approval of Euro-terrorist laws -which include new methods of control, files and raids- agreements between countries to extradite militants, the exceptional military tribunal in Koridallos prison where the trial of those accused as members of the revolutionary organization 17 November is taking place- and the "white cells" of democracy... the mask of the system is falling, clearly revealing the threat of the State and capitalism for the whole of society.

It is in this framework that the barricading of Thessaloniki in the month of June must be seen: the transformation of the town centre into a police zone, the bombardment of teargas against the black bloc, the arrests that followed, the torture in the cells, the violent interrogations and the fabrication of evidence against the 29 accused, the transformation of their charges into serious crimes and the continued imprisonment without trial of the 7 (on 24/10 the second request for release was refused).

In the face of this situation a whole series of initiatives of solidarity and counter-information hake taken place in greece and abroad. Demonstrations and marches in various cities and in front of the prisons where the 7 militants are being held, occupations or radio stations, offices and services, solidarity benefits, economic contributions, symbolic hunger strikes, days of international solidarity (July 10 and September 21), occupation of greek consulates and embassies, symbolic attacks on state and capitalist targets as well as greek business interests abroad. (In Spain, the strong solidarity campaign for the 7 has already faced attacks of repression, with the imprisonment of 5 anarchists in Barcelona under "anti"terrorist laws).

The wall of silence and misinformation that has been erected from the beginning of this story, completes the repression at the social level.

Already 5 of the 7 comrades imprisoned without trial have been on hunger strike for many days. Kastro since 21/9. Fernando, Carlos and Simon since 5/10 and Spiros since 8/10.

As long as the State insists on keeping them hostages, solidarity for them will spread like wildfire.

As long as the persecution of militants lasts, the struggle we engaged in at Thessaloniki will continue and intensify.