Solidarity with activists arrested during last year's state terror raids

The October 15th Solidarity Group in Wellington was formed to support those people arrested by police during last year’s state terror raids. The group has issued a statement (below) and is calling on other groups and organisations to support a day of action on 30 August to protest the continued victimisation of tino rangatiratanga activists. While the police failed in their attempt to lay terrorism charges, people are still facing charges under the Arms Act. The depositions hearing for these charges will begin on 1 September, and last for at least a month. This will require those charged to be in Auckland for a month at their own expense. October 15th Solidarity Group is calling groups and individuals to sign-up to the solidarity statement. Email urs@indymedia.org Resources (leaflets, posters, etc.) are available from the October 15 Solidarity website. To make a donation to help support those arrested during the depositions hearing, and to cover the costs of producing resources, mail a cheque to PO Box 9263, Wellington. Or deposit the money directly into the October 15th Solidarity bank account: Bank: Kiwibank, Account name: October 15 Solidarity Account Number:38-9007-0239672-000 See also The SIS and Police: the job of inventing a terrorist threat

Solidarity statement: We demand the unconditional freedom of the people who are facing charges as a result of the state terror raids on 15 October 2007. Attempts by the Police to lay charges under the Terrorism Suppression Act (TSA) failed but people are still facing politically motivated charges under the Arms Act. These charges are the result of a racist operation. Police used the Terrorism Suppression Act and over $8 million to harass and punish political activists who they saw as supporting Tino Rangatiratanga. The Police have arrested a few people but we're all targeted. The arrests of October 15th are aimed at intimidating and frightening all of our communities and cannot be tolerated. We therefore call on everyone to stand up against this attack on our communities. We support the global day of action on 30 August 2008 and are mobilising to demand the unconditional freedom of the people facing charges as a result of the state terror raids.