This week, we’re sharing three segments. First up, you’ll hear Yara speaking about Solidarity International, a new initiative to support prisoner support and anti-repression work beyond borders initiated by various anarchist and anti-authoritarian groups networked together, including the International Anarchist Defence Fund and various anarchist black cross groups across the world. Yara’s voice has been re-recorded for anonymity. [ 00:02:19 – 00:29:02 ]
We’re releasing this in the run up to the 2025 Week of Solidarity With Anarchist Prisoners (or WOSWOP), August 23-30th, in which people are invited to gather, connect and take action against borders and against prison walls. You can find more about Solidarity International at their website, Solidarity.International, find them on their mastodon, bluesky, telegram or instagram accounts, and see the 2025 WOSWOP call for solidarity on that site or linked in our show notes. We read the statement here as well. [ 00:29:21 – 00:32:37 ]
Then, you’ll hear 2 segments from recent episodes of B(A)D News, a monthly podcast in English from the international A-Radio Network. More audios like these, plus archives, can be found at A-Radio-Network.Org
- The first of these is from the Anarchist Assembly of Biobío near so-called Concepción, Chile from the June 2025 episode of B(A)D News, featuring a chat with the art collective Mesa 8, where they discussed memory, art, and the military dictatorship that began in 1973. [ 00:33:18 – 00:38:23 ]
- Following this, Ausbruch from Freiburg in the German territory spoke with the Red Aid, “der Rote Hilfe” about their work and current challenges from it’s founding over 100 years ago by the German Communist Party (KPD) into it’s current iteration. This segment can be found in our July 2025 episode of B(A)D News. [ 00:39:12 – 00:53:34 ]
Finally, you’ll hear a segment from Sean Swain… [ 00:53:36 – 01:01:50 ]
Some Materials Related To Mentioned Cases:
- Roman Shvedov, fallen comrade
- Antifa OST & Budapest Complex including Maya who just ended a hungerstrike (TFSR ep)
- Moscow ABC and Solidarity Zone supporting Russian dissidents
- Marianna, Dmitra plus their fallen comrade Kyriakos Xymitiris, of the so-called Ampelokipoi case in Athens (TFSR ep)
- Women Prisoners of Iran facing death: Sharifeh Mohammadi, Pakhshan Azizi, Verisheh Moradi and Nassim Simiyari
- Stop Cop City 61 RICO defendants
. … . ..
Featured Track:
- Vitamin C by Can from Ege Bamyasi
Transcription
Yara: Hello audience, my name is Yara. I come from Chumash territories of Turtle Island, and I am just a person working on different anti-repression stuff and land defense stuff.
TFSR: Cool. Thanks for joining us… Joining me… Joining us…
Yara: Yeah.
TFSR: Thanks for making an us.
Yara: For being an us… My pleasure.
TFSR: What is Solidarity International? What’s the scope of the activities of that and who participates in it?
Yara: Solidarity International is basically a structure or federation of groups doing different anti-repression work. And it’s basically a cauldron of people who wish to participate in order to facilitate more connection and communication between different anti-repression groups across the world. Right now, we’re still in the process of doing a lot of connecting pieces and we really want to connect to groups outside of North America and Europe, where most of our connection is now. Most of our activities are focused on organizing events, spreading and sharing information about cases in different areas and trying to raise material support for comrades as well as we’re trying to build infrastructure with longevity that can weave a larger web of support and hopefully can build long lasting relationships of mutual aid and solidarity. And our aim is kind of to amplify the voices of anarchists who are facing repression on a broader level in order to get more comrades involved and get more support for those who are affected.
We also loosely facilitate the Week of Solidarity with Anarchist Prisoners that happens every year on August 23rd through 30th. And the current groups that participate in Solidarity International are ABC Stockholm, the Anarchist Defence Fund, ABC Bristol, Solidarity Apothecary, Blue Ridge ABC and ABC Belarus.
TFSR: Cool. That’s really helpful. Thank you. So you mentioned doing support for anarchists facing repression or in prison. You named a bunch of ABC groups in there, like anarchist black cross groups, and mentioned that a lot of the support is going towards anarchist prisoners.
The network doesn’t have anarchy in the name. Is it just made up of anarchist groups and are you just supporting anarchist prisoners or how does that work? What does that look like?
Yara: Well, there’s a lot of different groups in the network who are supporting different people. But for instance, if you look, there’s a bunch of Anarchist Black Cross groups involved, and they don’t really adhere to a strict anarchist ideological position. Like the Anarchist Black Cross Federation supports prisoners of war as well and have maybe a broader conception of POWs, but the values and principles within like within Solidarity International itself are anarchistic and anti-authoritarian. So maybe all the people that we’re supporting as a network have their principles and values, and we have our own shared principles and values. And so obviously, we’re not supporting any people who are cooperating with the state, and we carry anti-authoritarian and autonomous value sets. We believe in organizing ourselves to support those around us who are in need and also comrades who are not around us and are in need.
TFSR: Are there any formal, named networks that you’re aware of that have acted in this manner in the past and that inspire Solidarity International?
Yara: Well, we mentioned the Anarchist Black Cross. There’s a lot of different things that come to mind. I guess I’ll start with the Anarchist Defence Fund, which is an example. It’s basically a collective fund for anarchists who are facing repression, and they can apply in order to receive financial support. And the decision making around the cases is decentralized and made by people who donate to the fund directly. The fund has supported a lot of different people in different places in the world. So I think that kind of broad and expansive reach is influential, and the Defence Fund also participates in this network.
That formation’s been influential as well as, yeah, as we mentioned many times, the Anarchist Black Cross Federation, which has had different cooperation between chapters for a very long time now. But maybe like the intention with Anarchist Black Cross is connecting specific different Anarchist Black Cross groups and that share the same organizational standards and principles. But like even if you look at the history of the Anarchist Black Cross, you can see influence, for instance, at this supposed conference that took place in the early 1900s in London, where the anti-authoritarians gathered for talks and where this person, Vera Figner, met with anarchists (though she was a Socialist Revolutionary or SR). She met with anarchists and they were discussing the political situation of prisoners in Russia. I think this was super influential for other groups who organized in their localities under the name at the time, which was the Anarchist Red Cross. And I think this was kind of marked the creation of the Anarchist Black Cross internationally.
I can’t think off the top of my head of anything that was specifically connecting different anti-repression groups together in a more formalized structure, especially groups that were doing different kinds of work surrounding repression. You know, like, for instance, you have the A-Fund, then you have people who are writing prisoners or just there’s a more broad scope, maybe, or groups that are more focused on a specific kind of work than groups that have more of a broader conception of the struggle. But also, I don’t want to get too caught up on influence from formalized groups necessarily, but more so just you’ll see different people in groups doing anti-repression work and care work. Like, for instance, all the families and comrades who support loved ones facing repression everywhere, like in Chile where people actually cook and bring food to their incarcerated loved ones.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that what’s influential is people caring for each other and extending empathy with shared aims against oppression and domination. And that’s something that knows no borders. On the other hand, we are trying to be more direct and intentionally, like emphasize trying to reach other anti-repression groups across the world. And I mentioned, I think the beginning, the International Week of Solidarity with Anarchist Prisoners. That is influential towards our increased solidification. And I think that’s been helpful in creating more communication between groups doing anti-repression work.
And then there is, as well, constant international anti-repression gatherings that have created long lasting comradeships, which have also planted the many seeds that we are now watering.
TFSR: Considering how most repression happens under national or subnational say, like in the U.S. at the state or the county and in Canada, it might be provincial basis. Why have you created this international formation? It seems like groups are going to be facing different legal predicaments wherever they are facing repression, no?
Yara: Yes. I mean, states have and will continue to operate on an international level. As anarchists and anti-authoritarians, it’s important to create a shared analysis on the formation of the state and the way states use different tactics in order to hold power and hegemony. While states have these national and subnational laws, in the end, they’re all used for the same thing, despite like different intensities of repression and different strategies the states are using. So yeah, the state’s repressive agencies are always operating on an international level. Why should we not also be?
I mean, not only for this reason, like there are clear financial differences between movements also, which makes it crucial for people who live in areas that it’s easier to get finances or it’s easier to hold events to raise finances or awareness. Like for instance, even the divide between like Western and Eastern Europe is huge. Like there’s a massive divide, financial and also with knowledge as well. A lot of comrades in Western Europe don’t even know about like cases and repressions of Eastern Europe or even just like maybe say for instance, between France and Italy or something, which is really surprising.
It can make a huge difference in places where there’s more anarchist and leftist community to like spread information and organize from there for groups who don’t have that same access. International networks are really important for ensuring this wealth gets distributed to comrades who are in dire need and are struggling with almost access to no material resources. And it’s important to make sure we’re getting these resources to the struggles that really need it. And this can only really happen if we have resilient relationships with comrades across the globe. I think it’s important to imagine an anti-repression network within a city or a region that’s not only up-to-date on struggles of anarchist circles in other countries or continents, but is actually committed to building relationships of solidarity and mutual aid across borders. So, this could even look like just collectively raising funds to send to comrades or updating knowledge and information or just like keeping up of relationships with long distance communications and visits and like hosting comrades and always trying to share resources basically in different contexts and ideas.
We can actually see that our struggles are entangled and see the international entanglements of the global system and our struggles against it. Many anarchists are aware of different struggles through news reports or communiques or social media, but I think there’s a massive distance or divide between kind of this, how to say, like this, yeah, just casual consumption versus like a really deep relationship building that is needed for effective and meaningful struggle. And we hope that Solidarity International can be a piece of this anti-repression relationship building on a little bit of an international scale. But generally, the discourse around repression in prison conditions and cases and charges could use a much wider perspective, like we and by we, the big we, I mean, those of us who are struggling against power in all of its various forms could benefit from creating a deeper analysis of state repression beyond the borders of where we live to build common understanding of how states react to dissent. And I think this could sharpen our movements and strengthen our collective abilities for self-defense.
Oftentimes I think we’re thinking really locally, which is incredibly important, but there are also comrades in places beyond our own ecosystems that need support and can also influence our local struggles and capacity to defend ourselves better. And I think, as we know but it’s harder in practice to see, that we are connected in our struggles and that connection and empathy that we have for our localities could extend.
I think this also includes comrades who are doing anti-repression work. So I think by creating this kind of big cauldron of groups with different experiences and skills and languages and connection to different cases and groups, we’ll be able to extend our capacity for solidarity and get more material support for the affected communities. Yeah, I also wanted to mention this kind of, I don’t have the best word for it, but maybe this inverse nationalism that’s happening or that happens within even anti-repression work or anarchists and leftists or anti-authoritarian communities and their localities where the focus is so strongly on people in those same localities who are incarcerated or in prison where it’s almost like that empathy or that connection is actually just based off having a shared experience of place or of community or of like… It’s almost this struggle to imagine or to realize that we are interconnected and the conditions of comrades in different places do have a direct influence.
So I think a question we’re now askin, or a question that Solidarity International is trying to answer a bit is this: how can we bring the conditions of other comrades in places we’ve never been, or who we don’t know… how do we bring those conditions into our everyday life or how do we also be a part of those struggles? And I think it’s important to challenge this struggle to see beyond what feels comfortable or known.
TFSR: Yeah, I see from the prisoner support side of things, formations in the US since the escalated like since October 7th, 2023, a lot of groups in the US, a lot of like radical abolitionist groups, not necessarily all anarchists taking a lot of like, or increasing intention of studying prisoner situations, whether it be like publications from Samidoun or from other formations about prisoners in Palestine, and the sort of inner weaving of the struggles and experiences of prisoners there with prisoners here as sort of a practice or an exercise of deepening our understanding of the repressive ties between the US settler state and the Israeli settler state and repressed populations.
I think that’s interesting and I could see how a formation like this could also contribute to that sort of how do we deepen and widen our knowledge of these things and thus like our solidarity, like what is better at that than getting in direct communication with people that have experienced those conditions or are struggling against it in those places?
Yara: Totally, and I really hope also that it’s not just about the people doing the anti-repression support work, you know, that it’s also about the comrades who are in prison, the comrades who are facing repression and spreading their ideas and their knowledge. Or that it’s also about building this relationship to those who are affected as well and I think in doing that and realizing that, then we can also kind of struggle against repression in a way that it tries to isolate us and we can actually kind of amplify the ideas, amplify the struggles more or something.
TFSR: Yeah.
It sounded like in the first question you expressed this, but I just want a little clarification. Are you inviting other groups to join? What sort of groups are you inviting and what would they benefit from being a part of this venture?
Yara: Yeah, we are inviting groups to join. I think it could benefit from direct communication with other groups doing anti-repression work, helping spread more information and resources to help us better respond to state repression. I think also, as I was mentioning, this struggle for access to resources, material resources and also care and I think those who are struggling to find that could also benefit by being plugged in into groups across different countries that have more access and if groups also need or want to get information out or they need translation help or these kinds of things. I think this is a very positive aspect of the network.
There are different requirements for groups who wish to join and you can find out more by emailing us. I’ll say the email at the end of the interview and then through emailing you can also learn about these requirements that we have.
TFSR: Considering the cooperation among nation states, but also competition between them, how do you navigate the scope of this project and the impacts that it has on anti-repression projects acting in solidarity across borders? I’m sure that this is bound to bring some negative attention from nation states, again to bring up Samidoun as an example in the U.S., which is not as far as I know an anti-authoritarian structure but I could be wrong, doing prisoner solidarity and tying that to solidarity around the struggle for a free Palestine has led people affiliated with it in the U.S. to face repression even though the prisoners that they’re supporting aren’t based in this country.
Can you talk about what happens when we get the state’s attention even if it’s not the state that we’re talking about?
Yara: In many ways it’s hard to say because obviously we’re in the early phases of the project. It’s hard to say but it’s not hard to imagine maybe, but also navigating the scope of the project can be difficult because everyone faces different conditions and repression is working differently everywhere. But for instance, comrades in more intensely repressive conditions might have a harder time with communicating or even being able to participate. For instance, I don’t know, if comrades in Russia or Belarus or something want to be involved, it’s more difficult. You have this history also, where Russia (I think it was maybe a year or so ago) basically labeled the Anarchist Black Cross as a terrorist formation. So this is kind of difficult to manage but also I think having this international scope makes it more possible for us to carry each other through those conditions. And obviously there’s the issue of technology and these heavily mediated communications which are always an ongoing struggle but we’re doing what we can with it.
So it’s hard to say. It’s a little bit difficult to say exactly the impacts that it will have on anti-repression projects but I can say that I know at this point, I’m sure that a lot of us listening to this don’t believe in the neutrality of the state. While it is a strength and it’s a beautiful thing to be trying to operate on a larger scale, I think that as you said, it can bring more attention but I think being at that scale or being in connection to other groups will help us through that. And I think there’s more benefit than there is a loss there or something.
TFSR: Are there any incarcerated comrades or are there challenging cases that you want to mention here during this chat that people might be able to learn more about on their own from the resources presented by Solidarity International?
Yara: Yeah. I mean, first of all, big solidarity and warm greetings to all who are struggling in the face of state repression and everybody who’s supporting friends and loved ones through state violence.
I have some places and conditions and people to mention. I feel like it’s also important to talk a little bit about conditions in different places to maybe tie or find links between the different situations.
First of all, I would like to mention a comrade who not so long ago passed on which was Roman Shvedov and he was found dead in his cell five or so hours after his sentencing. He was sentenced for attacking an administrative building and protests against the war in Ukraine.
I also want to just mention the conditions for comrades in Russia and Siberia and Belarus which are very highly repressive. There were at least 1,116 or so cases against anti-war dissidents in Russia. And as I mentioned earlier, it’s important to mention that the Anarchist Block Cross in Russia was labeled a terrorist organization, which isn’t really surprising. But I think it’s important because I think sometimes, like for instance on Turtle Island, the conditions are intensifying and we also hear narratives or you hear people discussing it. But often very liberal, maybe more liberalized aspects to it. I think it’s important to connect to the conditions in other places to see how people are still struggling and find ways through those conditions.
Yeah, I also want to mention the friends in Germany and Hungary and France and Italy like who are on the run and also in prison and being charged in relationship to the Budapest Complex and the cases that are kind of loosely trying to be tied to it as the state does. I want to mention Maya T, who’s a queer comrade who’s currently in prison in Hungary in really terrible conditions. And there’s a lot of different cases right now ongoing in Germany against anti-fascists. I would encourage people to look into those cases and try to support and write to people.
I also would like to mention the cases against Marianna [Zarafeta] and Dimitra [Papathanasiou], who are friends of the fallen comrade Kyriakos Xymitiris in Greece, who are also being, who are being accused of terrorism and formation of a terrorist group.
There are these four women comrades in Iran. Their names are Sharifeh Mohammadi, Pakhshan Azizi and Verisheh Moradi and Nassim Simiyari. They’re all facing death sentences and charges of so-called armed rebellion against the state. It’s important to look into. A lot of people, a lot of comrades don’t know about this.
There are the 61 comrades who are being charged with domestic terrorism in connection to the Stop Cop City movement in Atlanta, Georgia, 42 of them are being charged with domestic terrorism. And then there’s also this person, Jack, who’s being charged with first degree arson. Yeah, I want to mention those cases. I feel like people on Turtle Island are mostly aware of them, but people in other places are aware of the Stop Cop City movement, but they’re maybe not connected to the ongoing repressions that are happening.
And right now in Italy, there’s this so-called Security Decree, which is basically a series of restrictive amendments that are being proposed under the guise of protecting children and fighting terrorism. And these are basically a set of measures targeting protests, all different kinds of protests, by toughening the penalties for damaging public property or blocking traffic or resisting so-called officials. And it also includes a new crime of rebellion in prison. And so it’s also applying to detention centers for migrants. This means that those who engage in hunger strikes or any kind of resistance acts in prison also can be charged, for instance, for hunger striking. They’re trying to make it, you can be charged for, you can have two years added on your sentence. And within this set of laws, they’re also trying to offer legal protections for police and armed forces. And the state is offering to cover part of their legal fees during criminal proceedings, the legal fees of the police services and armed forces.
I wanted to mention different conditions because it’s important to feel a sense of humbleness and interconnectedness around different struggles that are happening and how all of our repressive conditions are linked and kind of to understand the reality that we are facing.
TFSR: So how can folks learn more, be in contact and support the efforts of Solidarity International?
Yara: Folks could organize events. They can do stuff for the week of Solidarity with anarchist prisoners, spread information and connect to other groups doing anti-repression work. Yeah, really just reach out and try to connect more with us or even just with other groups in their areas.
It doesn’t have to be directly about Solidarity International. It’s mostly about broadening our web of support, also building relationships with incarcerated comrades, writing people, despite them being in the country that you live or not. You know, international postage stamps are a thing. I think it’s really important.
Yeah, do the thing in your own region, but let’s try to expand anti-repression work so there are more people doing it. So it’s not something that is specialized and is maybe more common. But if you want to directly reach us, you can email contact@Solidarity.International and we can discuss more details. Currently, we can communicate in English, Swedish, Belarusian, Russian, German, Spanish and Kurdish.
TFSR: Great. And what’s your web presence like? Are there any social media that people can find you on? Do you have a website that we could direct people to, to learn more or find out about some of the struggles engaged by some of the groups that are involved in it?
Yara: Yeah, if you search or find our website, it’s Solidarity.International and you can just put that in the little search bar and on there we will have links to our Bluesky and Mastadon and you can reach us there.
TFSR: Yara, thank you so much for having the conversation. Any last thoughts that you want to share?
Yara: No. I just want to send warmth to everybody who are struggling under the kind of cold clamps of repression and again, all those people who love those who are. I think it’s important to emphasize that it’s not just about the people who are affected or people who are directly affected by state repression, but the conditions for their loved ones as well. And this is just such undervalued work that’s hard to get people to do or care about at times and I hope that we can, I hope we can try to think more about it and it brings good discussions and I look forward to, or we look forward to hearing from people.
TFSR: Fire To The Prisons! Thank you very much for having this chat.
Yara: Fire To The Prisons!
Thank you!