[Dissent-fr-info] [police violence] Urgent Call for International Solidarity!

Wed Jun 30 13:58:03 UTC 2010

*Urgent Appeal for International Solidarity! Stand up against police
shooting of Maxwell Itoya in Poland and the general criminalization of
immigrants in Europe on Wednesday, July 1^st , 2010*

We send out this appeal to ask for your solidarity, and more
specifically, for action and reaction in international solidarity to the
act of state violence that has recently taken place in Poland, but which
is of great relevance to all those living within Fortress Europe.

We are a collective of Warsaw residents- immigrants and non, alike-
currently engaged in struggle against state organs of repression- the
police in particular- responsible for brutally murdering Maxwell Itoya,
a Pole of Nigerian origin on May 23, 2010. This fight is manifesting
itself on many fronts, from the legal to the subversive; we are
agitating in the courts, the media and the streets. Our aim is to bring
to justice the guilty police criminal, as well as the perverted racist
system that has not only been shielding this bastard under a veil of
“objective” lies, but that has also been using the same bogus arguments
to justify its atrocious criminalization and downright slaughter of the
thousands of immigrants who try to traverse the barbed gates of Europe.

International pressure is crucial. The Polish police is exerting all of
its efforts to assure itself the undoubting faith of public opinion in
the media while it carefully covers up the “accident,” sweeping the
evidence under the rug of last week’s news. We refuse to allow this
matter to disappear just the way that countless other acts of state and
police brutality are regularly effaced from public consciousness. We
will continue to act and we need your help!*We call for international
direct action and demonstrations on Wednesday, July 1^st , 2010 in the
aim of placing pressure on the Polish government to guarantee a just and
transparent trial in the case of Maxwell Itoya! We call for
international solidarity in the struggle against exclusive citizenship
regimes based on capitalist intents at exploitation and their armed
bullies in the form of police, border guards and Frontex!*

*What happened on May 23?*

On May 23, around 10:00 am, during a routine control of shoe and
clothing dealers- deemed "business criminals" by the authorities- at
Warsaw's main market, non-uniformed police officers brutally arrested
one of the sellers. Witnesses of the arrest, surprised by the unusual
level of police violence, began calling on officers to regain calm. In
reaction, one of the officers fired at 36 year-old Maxwell Itoya, a Pole
of Nigerian origin, killing him on the spot. The police officer did not
fire a warning shot in the air and the killing occurred in breach of
legal procedure. All evidence reveals that Max did not provoke this
radical act; he was not aggressive, rather, he called for peace and
calm. The solidarity that Max showed towards his friends was answered by
a lethal shot fired by a member of the police in his direction.

Max's murder caused outrage in the crowd. 32 citizens of African
countries were arrested and later charged with aggravated assault of
police officers and destruction of property (stones were thrown at
police cars). Currently, there is one- Agu Chidi- still being held under
arrest and facing deportation. Agu Chidi has been held since May 23
without release and without any information as to his whereabouts.

Like many low-wage workers, Max sold goods at the market on the weekends
in order to support his family. His legal status in Poland had been
fully regulated for years. He left behind a wife and three children.

*We call on all those who want to help in bringing about a just trial to
uphold the following demands in their own solidarity initiatives:*

*·Fundamental to a just and transparent legal process is the
authorities’ assurance that no witnesses to the crime shall be subject
to deportation. The parties in this case are representatives of the
Polish government and immigrants. As the latter party’s well-being in
Poland is evidently under the direct discretion of the former, fear of
repercussions such as deportation or the denial to renew temporary
residency permits so as to wield pressure on the witnesses is entirely
plausible. The only solution is thus to convey full legal status to the
witnesses:*
                        -*Amnesty for Displaced Foreign Workers without
legal status (“illegals”)*
                        -*Permanent legal stay for witnesses in
possession of  temporary residency permits*
*·We appeal for help and support for the family of the victim of this
brutal police action.*
*·We demand explanation of the arrest of the 32 citizens of African
countries, their scandalous treatment, as well as of the attempts at
intimidation that have been directed towards them and their families by
police officers.*

<http://clk.atdmt.com/FRM/go/232102479/direct/01/>
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