AYGOYSTOS2009

According to the medical report of the 10th of August, after one month of hunger strike, Iliopoulos (who was of only 60 kg of weight when he begun the hunger strike), he had lost the 18% of his weight and has problems in several parts of his body (cardiovascular, muscular, central nervous system, electrolyte disorders) that pose an imminent risk for his life.

Only after this report and after 34 days of hunger strike, Iliopoulos was transferred to the Prison Hospital. But that’s not enough. He must be transferred to a regular hospital immediately. The fact that the Greek authorities are keeping Iliopoulos in prison and are refusing to transfer him to a hospital, reminds the numerous cases of medical negligence that a lot of Palestinian prisoners are suffering.

Whoever has met Thodoris Iliopoulos knows that he is a very delicate man, low profile, very polite, almost poetic. So why the authorities have chosen him as the scapegoat? First of all, Iliopoulos he didn’t remain silent while he was in prison. He denounced not only his unfair imprisonment but also he declared that he was in solidarity with the teenagers’ uprising. Furthermore his ideological background: although he doesn’t want to put labels to himself, such as “anarchist” he says openly that he has read and is influenced by anarchist ideas. Finally his age: young enough to be one of the “rebels”, old enough to be treated separately from the teenagers. So the authorities consider him a suitable case to be punished as an example (and threat) for others.

A lot of people are standing in solidarity with Iliopoulos. Another prisoner, Nikos Tsouvalakis begun a hunger strike in the same day, just in solidarity with his fellow prisoner Iliopoulos. Several MPs of the Coalition of Radical Left are standing in solidarity (among them Anastasios Kourakis who broke the siege on Gaza with the Free Gaza Movement, about a year ago), with press conferences and letters to the authorities, but also an MP from the Socialist Party was present at the most recent press conference.

Although this is the period of vacations and all the Greeks are in the countryside or at the beach, small protests are organized in many places all over the country. But it’s true that this is a difficult time…

In 1937, while he was still in Britain, Alfred Hitchcock made a great thriller named “Young and Innocent” about a man falsely accused. The spectators know that the accused is innocent and that’s the reason they are thrilled to see if he will manage to prove his innocence. This summer we are witnessing the thriller of another Young and Innocent man, Thodoris Iliopoulos. But this is not a film. It’s real life. And Thodoris’ life is in danger.

Whoever wants to support can sign the on line petition: http://petitiononline.com/tokeli41/ The photo of Thodoris Iliopoulos is from his personal archive