Kinship Circle | Letter Campaigns

6/11/08: Austria - Animal Activists Unlawfully Jailed

SOURCE OF INFORMATION / BACKGROUND

UPDATE: Freedom For Unlawfully Jailed Austrian Activists

DATE: 9/2/08
SOURCE: Austrian Solidarity

Christof, Elmar, Felix, Jan, Jürgen, Kevin, Leo, Martin and Sabine — the remaining 9 Austrian activists — are finally free! Since the end of May, 9 activists (Christian had been released earlier) have been charged with Forming a Criminal Organization, under 278a StGB of the Austrian penal code. The Appellate court explained...the pre-trial detention cannot be upheld if the expected penalties are in no relation to it... Every letter, petition and demo directly impacted the campaign to demand justice for the TEN...

•  FARM Demands Freedom for Austrian Activists
•  SUPPORT WEBSITE For Austrian Activists Unjustly Arrested
•  Austria: Indefensible Attack Against Animal Welfare Movement, from Alex at Equal Justice
•  [WAR] International Day of Solidarity with Jailed Austrian Activists on Hunger Strike
•  Association Against Animal Factories (read case updates here)

On May 21, 2008, Austrian police invaded 23 homes and offices of animal rights advocates, arresting 14 citizens on a hunch they'd launched a criminal organization. With no solid evidence, these activists remain jailed. One prisoner, Dr. Martin Balluch, president of the Austrian Association Against Animal Factories, is growing weak on a hunger strike... This case — and the notion of constitutional rights within a free society — resonates for activists everywhere. Please demand their release.

CONTACT INFORMATION + SAMPLE LETTER

CONTACT INFORMATION • Print/Send This Letter

Federal Minister Of The Interior Günther Platter
Herrengasse 7, 1010 Vienna, Vienna
ph: +43/1/53126-0; email: Ministerbuero@bmi.gv.at

Federal Minister For Justice Maria Berger
Museumstrasse 7, 1070 Vienna, Austria
ph: +43/1/52152-0; email: minister.justiz@bmi.gv.at

Federal Chancellor Dr. Alfred Gusenbauer
Ballhausplatz 2, 1014 Vienna, Austria
ph: +43/1/53115-0; email: alfred.gusenbauer@bka.gv.at

SOURCE: www.austria.gv.at/site/3541/default.aspx

Federal President Dr. Heinz Fischer
Hofburg, Leopoldinischer Trakt
A 1014 Vienna, Austria
ph: +43(0)1 53422
email: heinz.fischer@hofburg.at, soziales@hofburg.at
SOURCE: www.hofburg.at/show_content.php? hid=13&language=en

Austrian Embassy, Washington, D.C. - Consular Section
3524 International Court, NW; Washington, D.C., 20008
Ambassador Eva Nowotny
ph: 202-895-6700 (after German message, press 1, then 7 to reach the Ambassador's office)
fax: 202-895-6750
email: Eva.Nowotny@bmeia.gv.at, christine.hargrove@bmeia.gv.at
website: www.austria.org/

TO FIND AUSTRIAN EMBASSIES IN OTHER NATIONS, TRY:
www.embassyworld.com/embassy/Austria/Austria.html
www.bmeia.gv.at/index.php?id=61960&L=1

Dr. Brigitta Blaha, Consul General
Austrian Consulate General, New York
31 East 69th Street; NY, NY 10021
ph: 212-737-6400; fax: 212-772-8926
ph/Consul General: 212-933-5147; ph/legal issues: 212-933-5142

Austrian Consulate General, Los Angeles
11859 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 501; Los Angeles, CA 90025
ph: 310-444-9310, 473-4721; fax: 310-477-9897

Austrian Consulate General, Chicago
400 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 707; Chicago, IL 60611
ph: 312-222-1515; fax: 312-222-4113

EMAIL BLOCK, all emails found for this alert:
Ministerbuero@bmi.gv.at, minister.justiz@bmi.gv.at, alfred.gusenbauer@bka.gv.at, heinz.fischer@hofburg.at, soziales@hofburg.at, Eva.Nowotny@bmeia.gv.at, christine.hargrove@bmeia.gv.at

*Kinship Circle cannot guarantee validity of email addresses. During campaigns, recipients may change or disable their email addresses. Emails from government, corporate, or institute websites may be incorrect.

Back to top

SAMPLE LETTER • Print/Send This Letter

Honorable Officials of Austria:

It is my understanding the Republic of Austria is governed according to the principles of representative democracy. Yet on May 21, 2008, Austrian police invaded 23 homes and offices of animal protection advocates, arresting 14 citizens on a hunch they'd formed a criminal organization.

Without regard for individual liberties, officers acting on behalf of an independent court ransacked properties, shattering doors and seizing computers and documents. Some "suspects" were arrested at gunpoint, despite a lack of incriminating evidence.

These events threaten the notion of constitutional rights within a free society. I respectfully demand the release of 10 Austrian activists still detained under §278a of the Austrian penal code.

Please terminate §278a proceedings, which essentially blacklist political/social activists as conspirators in criminal organizations.

The 10 activists could languish in pre-trial detention for months under vague allegations of "Danger of Destruction of Evidence" and "Danger of Committing Further Crimes." I've learned files submitted to their lawyers failed to prove criminal offense and that access to full documentation has been limited. Prolonged custody violates human rights and constitutional privileges to fair legal proceedings.

It is no surprise demonstrators in Austria, Romania, Germany, Sweden, the United States and elsewhere continue to stand in solidarity against this miscarriage of justice.

Please let me know of actions underway to release these unlawfully detained animal welfare advocates in Austria.

Thank you,

Back to top

DIRECT COMMUNIQUE FROM PRISONER MARTIN BALLUCH
A highly respected European animal rights leader

SOURCE: Alex at Equal Justice, alex@equaljusticealliance.org

I have had nothing to eat for 7 days, since Tuesday 20th May 2008. I am in custody in Vienna Neustadt on hunger strike.

Early on Wednesday morning, while it was still dark, a group of masked men wearing black broke down my apartment door, held me in bed with a gun to my head and forced me to stand up naked. My brother in the adjoining room was placed with his hands against the wall and a the pistol against his neck, while his 7-year-old daughter had to watch. Then the police searched through my apartment, turned everything upside down and left only 6 hours later with my computers, books, writings and video cassettes. I have been sitting in a cell ever since.

Since I was not actually informed what is actually alleged against me, I went on hunger strike. After so many days without food I feel very weak. If I move quickly, everything starts spinning. But I still have confidence in the rule of law, that we here in Austria cannot be treated like this without good reason. And that's why I will continue on hunger strike until either I am given a justification or I am released.

My lawyer has explained the case being alleged against me. He is very thorough, but provides no justification for my treatment. In 1500 pages of documents my name is mentioned only 3 times: once because of an interview that I gave to an American animal protection magazine, once because of an article with me in the magazine "Wiener", and lastly because of a radio show with me on Radio Orange. It cannot seriously be true that I am being so mistreated and held in pre-trial custody because of my media work.

The 1500-pages of legal documents consist primarily of police investigations into a total of 27 animal protection actions over recent years. This includes actions such as "stalking an employee of a prominent fur company." "hanging an anti-fur poster on the western Highway" and 2x "throwing small bits of paper around at the business premises of a leading fur company," through to the damaging of cars, smashing of windows and throwing stink bombs. In the whole case there is no mention of arson or gas attacks, which I understand has been claimed by the State Prosecutor in the media. In fact the station ORF reported that there was an animal rights arson attack in 2000 but nothing since then.

All police investigative reports on the 27 incidents end with the finding that the perpetrators are unknown.

Nevertheless on the Wednesday in question, as well as my apartment, 23 other apartments and offices from animal protection activists and a total of four animal protection societies were raided. Ten people were arrested. According to documents, the police investigation was triggered by a rally against renewed Nazi activity in 2006 which was organized by a Green councillor. Because some anti-Nazi graffiti was found in the same place, the Green councillor's house was searched - of course without result. The police however connected this graffiti with the cutting of advertising posters of a reptile show in Voesendorf, and since then the State Prosecutor in Wr. Neustadt has been investigating the animal rights scene...

Since at least the year 2004, in which the VGT succeeded against the will of the animal industry to enforce a ban on battery hens, we sensed there was a politically motivated campaign against our group. This campaign has obviously culminated in this action. The group's office was robbed of all its computer files - apparently for months or years - and is thus for a long time unable to act politically. Similarly, the apartments of the VGT treasurer and two prominent VGT campaigners were searched, and computers and campaign materials were taken.. I am the only VGT campaigner in prison.

To conceal the fact that that this action has been carried out without any concrete evidence which will lead to a criminal trial - and without the results from the house searches - the Interior Ministry is now hiding away, spreading rumours of arson and keeping me in pre-trial detention, as if there were a reason for my arrest. Since this is not true, and in order to make public this whole scandal of police terror, I had to embark on an indefinite hunger strike, and therefore put my own health and my life seriously at risk. I urge all citizens in our country, who hold human rights dearly, to support me and my life to save. Please do not allow the Constitution and our fundamental rights be trampled underfoot.

Dr. Martin Balluch, Chairman of the VGT -- from the prison cell

EASILY PERSONALIZE AND SEND COMMENTS NOW

Download PDF      Download Word      Printer Friendly

1. PDF FILE: Open letter in Acrobat Reader to print a clean copy before mailing or faxing (cannot modify letter in PDF format).

2. MICROSOFT WORD: Open letter in Microsoft Word to personalize it before sending by email, fax or postal mail.

3. PRINTER-FRIENDLY: A quick way to copy and paste the contents of the sample letter into:
    • The body of an email, for sending your letter by email.
    • The word processing software of your choice, for printing out letters to send by fax or postal mail.

FACT SHEET LIBRARY

60+ TOPICS FOR YOUR ADVOCACY MATERIALS: 8.5 x 11" Fact Sheets with photos + timely info, stats, studies. Compelling literature to educate others on the animals' behalf. Download and print Kinship Circle Fact Sheets!

DONATE to help us fund printing and nationwide distribution of Kinship Circle educational literature.

DOWNLOAD FREE FACT SHEETS:
• Use entire high-resolution PDF of any KC Fact Sheet to support your animal advocacy work.
• Crop select photos and fact bites to make your own posters, flyers...

Join our email list for ACTION CAMPAIGNS that address animal concerns worldwide. Our alerts let you speak influentially to key decision-makers who affect the outcome for animals.

Join our email list for an ANIMAL DISASTER AID network hat mobolizes volunteers, supplies and more for animal victims Get news about how to help animals stranded in disasters.

*First & Last Name
*Address
*Country

*Email Phone
*City *State *Zip
Comments

*Text fields with *asterisk must be filled in to subscribe to Kinship Circle (for regional alerts and disaster aid zone...)

Enter the code exactly as you see it in the
image: (Cookies must be enabled)

Load New Code

Back to top

DISCLAIMER

DISCLAIMER: The information in these materials is verified with the original source. Kinship Circle does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of the information or for the consequences of its use. Nothing on this website is intended to encourage illegal action in whatever country you are reading it in. Kinship Circle does not engage in, nor support, any form of harassment or unlawful activity. Nothing in this action alert serves to promote such conduct.

Kinship Circle cannot guarantee the validity of email addresses. During a campaign, recipients may change or disable their email addresses. Email addresses obtained from government or other official websites may be outdated or incorrect.