Update on Asel Luzarraga

From Hommodolars Contrainformación
translated by This is Our Job

January 22, 2010

Firstly, we’re grateful for the concern, comradeship, affection, and extent of support for Asel. As you already know, he is currently imprisoned in Temuco, Chile on charges of illegal weapons trafficking, which flatly contradicts the ethical heart of our comrade, since he is a conscientious objector due to his refusal to learn how to use weapons.
As friends of his and as human beings, it seems aberrant to us that someone (we still don’t know who) is attempting to blame Asel for this act, given that the first indictment phase focused on the explosion of four bombs at various points in the city, three of which were impossible for Asel to carry out since he was in Euskal Herria on those dates. As the facts didn’t gel with the events, Asel’s home was raided without any explanation, and they confiscated what they consider evidence: a fire extinguisher, black powder, buckshot, and fuses for the “supposed” production of bombs. At no time has this evidence―which never was in our comrade’s home anyway―been submitted to the public or the court via either photos or video (lately, this has been the trend in the majority of cases).
It looks to us like Asel is being criminalized for being Basque, for his anarchist ideas, for his constant interest in social matters, and for sympathizing with the Mapuche people, who have been systematically oppressed and discriminated against by the Chilean state.
Criminalization for being a foreigner (stigmatization for being Basque)
Criminalization of ideas
Criminalization for solidarity with the Mapuche people
The following description is a short, informative summary of the context in which events are unfolding:
Asel is currently in prison. His health is good and his mood changes nuance by the minute, but he is always smiling with the strength and integrity that distinguish him. As he has said, he won’t let them condemn him for identifying with “one of the most marvelous ideas in the world, which is all about freedom and mutual respect.” More clearly than ever, Asel is taking a fighting stance against the criminalization of conscious anarchism in the hope that his situation clears up and he can resume his activities and interests, as he has always done. The project he was working on consists of establishing of a studio for shared learning via a diverse, horizontal, anarchist educational approach. At the same time, he wants to continue his writing, because as you should know, he was a dedicated novelist before being imprisoned.
In the future, you’ll receive information more fluidly. For the moment, we’re grateful for all the counterinformation on Asel’s behalf renouncing both his criminalization and the deprivation of his liberty.
Down with prisons!!!
Free Asel!!!
Every prisoner is a political prisoner

- Asel’s Friends