Brighton: Statement At Adjournment of the Trial

Posted on April 24, 2013 by squat
welovesquatters3

Today the squatting trial in Brighton was adjourned until the 24th May as it ran out of time due to extreme faffing.

Two squatters had already had the case against them thrown out of court when the magistrates realised the prosecution hadn’t actually presented any evidence that they lived in the building. And the case against the third squatter looks pretty flimsy.

One of the freed defendants, said:


It’s proved to be ridiculous – it’s not even that we were found ‘not guilty’, but that there was absolutely no case to answer. The advice to squatters from this is don’t plead guilty. Presence in a building is not enough, they have to prove with documentary evidence that you actually live there.

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UK: Damned Lies and No Useful Statistics – The Criminalisation of Squatting in England and Wales

Posted on April 22, 2013 by squat

brightonTo tie in with the courtcase starting Monday in Brighton, when three squatters are going on trial under s144 and will not be pleading guilty, here’s some analysis of the criminalisation of squatting in England and Wales..

In 2012, as we all know, new offence of squatting in a residential building was created by the Government, following a moral panic in the media whipped up by a few right-wing politicians. After a rushed consultation, a last-minute clause was added to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill (LASPO) which meant that it was never properly discussed in the House of Commons. The bill was then pushed through the House of Lords at midnight. Section144 criminalises trespass in a residential building with up to 6 months in prison and/or £5000 fine. Previous campaigns to criminalise squatting in the late 1970s and mid 1990s had failed, unfortunately this time it partially succeeded.

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Oslo: Call-out for international solidarity for threatened Borgen building

Posted on April 19, 2013 by squat
Borgen-brenner

Thursday, 18th of april 2013

Borgen in the ‘old city’ in Oslo is a gigantic building which since ’93 has been used as offices for the national railway and later as a cultural fortress with studios and workshops for artists etc. The building has been, and still is a vital part of the borough; it’s a landmark and housing extintionthreathened bats.

The national railway wants to tear down the building with the excuse of constructing a new railway line which could be built underground instead. The former users of Borgen as well as local authorities said no to the destruction of the building. When they weren’t able to stop the process (the Oslo Council Plan- and building department gave permission to deconstruct without a single reasonable democratic hearing) Boligaksjonen (the housingaction) took the baton Friday april 5th.

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Brighton: Support for three squatters on trial

Posted on April 18, 2013 by squat
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The three defendants are booked in for a two and a half day trial at Brighton Magistrates Court which starts at 10am Monday April 22 2013.

At this stage we think the trial will go ahead on this date. Come on down!! It’s gonna be a riot! a lot of fun. Solidarity actions would be welcome.

The charges originally were squatting (under s144), obstruction (of the police in their lawful duty) and abstraction (ie stealing electricity). The abstraction charge has already been dropped.

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Barcelona: C.S.O.A. La Nave Espacial threatened with eviction

Posted on April 7, 2013 by squat

CSOA-LaNave-EspacialC.S.O.A La Nave Espacial in Barcelona received notice that they will be brought to court on the 28th of May.

What is La Nave Espacial?

We are a self-run Artistic Social Center that for the last five years has offered a free space for circus, music, theater and dance creation. Over the years we have successfully developed free workshops, cabarets, musical showcases, projections, expositions, family days and festivals (PobreNou, now in its fourth year). The Nave Espacial is at 176 Ávila street in Barcelona, in one of the old and previously-abandoned warehouses in the Poblenou neighborhood.

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Rio de Janeiro (Brazil): Call for international solidarity with the Aldeia Maracanã

Posted on April 2, 2013 by squat
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Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

On March 22, 2013 at 03:00, the police surrounded the old Indiginous museum, renamed by the indians Aldeia Maracanã (Maracanã Village), which is adjacent to the Maracanã Stadium, which will host the 2014 World Cup.

Occupied 6 years ago by various indigenous ethnic groups and their families, the occupation of the building was intendeded to build a center of indigenous culture controlled by Indians themselves, and also planned to create a Indigenous Popular University, as well as serving as housing for Indians passing through the city.

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Cologne, Germany : You wanna kick us out? We kick you out now!

Posted on March 19, 2013 by squat

17First reactions on the termination of the use contract of Autonomous Centre Cologne(AZ Kalk).

The savings bank Sparkasse KölnBonn has cancelled the use contract with the AZ at the 13th of March 2013, as demanded by the politrix of the city of Cologne. Reactions of concerned and solidary structures were quick to come. Activists made a visit to the town hall and the head office of Sparkasse at Rudolfplatz on the following day. Later in the evening around 200 people made a spontaneous demonstration through the city centre.

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