Switzerland: New letter from imprisoned eco-anarchist Marco Camenisch [ENG]

We receive a letter from ecologist anarchist prisoner Marco Camenisch concerning his intra-extra prison treatment:

End of June 2016: ‘descent’ update

After the transfer in November 2015 from Bostadel to the ‘closed transit’ unit of Saxerriet (Salez) there was a ‘transfer meeting’ on 10th December 2015 with the prison governor, the Zurich DAP representative and my lawyer, where the following ‘steps’, were ordered and have since been implemented :

– January 2016, internal transfer from ‘transit’ to an ‘open section’

– February 2016, 2 leave permits of 5 hours accompanied by personnel of the institute

– March 2016, 2 leave permits of 5 hours each with a ‘designated person of one’s choice who assumes responsibility’

– April 2016, 2 leave permits, the one of 5 hours and the other one of 12 hours with a ‘designated person of one’s choice who assumes responsibility’

– May 2016, 2 leave permits, one of 5 hours the other of 12 accompanied by a ‘representative person of one’s choice would assume responsibility’

– 18th May, another ‘executive coordination meeting’

At this meeting it was decided (with an order dated mid-June) that a leave permit of 12 hours be granted for June and July, plus a weekend permit of 24 hours in June and one of 36 hours in July, as well as a leave permit of 24 and another of 36 hours in August; afterwards, following another ‘executive coordination meeting’ to be held at the beginning of August, it could be decided that in September 2016 (about three months earlier than ‘foreseen’) I could start ‘external work’ for six months (work outside, evenings/nights inside, weekends outside). The requested work contract (min. 50%) and a place in a small prison in the Zurich area should already be certain, as far as I know.

Then a few months’ external work and residency (in private accommodation) could follow and, at the beginning of 2018 at the latest, release on bail.

The possibility of continue my political /personal relations (especially my writing) has been strongly reduced in recent years due to the repeated transfers and consequent reorganization of this work, sometimes starting again from scratch. And now, in this long passage ‘between inside and outside’ such possibilities have been reduced even more (often to a flicker…) or otherwise taken up, ex-novo, in an intriguing as it is impervious reorganization of the remains of solidarity beyond the walls in this prison society. These are efforts that all those directly involved in solidarity including myself, having to cope with in ‘spaces’ at times even more limited and certainly more uncertain than the ‘prison-prison’.

So in no way is it due to indifference or lack of personal and/or political solidarity if now and in the future I won’t be able to maintain the bulk of correspondence and writing that I have done up until recently.

However, with spaces already a little more ‘free’, starting with the imminent period of external work the situation and given reorganization and so also communication could become more favourable.

When I make the umpteenth change of address known I’ll do the same with the start of this period.

Always resisting, always contributing, always in solidarity,

Marco Camenisch, 26.06. 2016, Saxerriet prison, Salez, Switzerland

source: Informa-Azione, translated by Act For Freedom Now!)