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New (with the addresses of the prisoners):
Anarchist Black Cross Rhineland

News, the last ones on top

Nov. 23th
Occupation on the Cologne Cathedral
10:00 The people who were arrested in Düren yesterday, now are all free again. They were detained for dumpster diving (!) for almost 24 hours!

8:00 Since this morning there is a new occupation in the grubbing-up area, which is called “Polar Express”.

Nov. 22th

13:00 Since noon today 3 persons are detained at the police station of Düren. They were arrested in Düren, the exact circumstances are still unclear.

Nov. 20th/21th 5 persons arrested! No recognizable reasons

Nov. 17th
In the WAA (Workshop for Actions and Alternatives), we receive letters from the prison in Cologne as well as from the one in Aachen. One of the letters was published on the ABC Rhineland page.
Link to the letter.

Nov. 13th

11:40 am The person is free again.
8:00 am A person of the “Dritter Streich” has come voluntarily down from the tree. S-he is just brought to a police station, we try to find out to which one. The other person of “3th Streich” wants to remain in the tree.

Nov. 11th

5:00 pm All of the arrested people are free!
4:30 pm It’s definitely four people who were arrested today. The fourth person was the other person from “Erster Streich”. One activist is free again.
2:45 pm The arrested people have arrived at the police station in Düren.
2:40 pm According to the cops, four people have been arrested today.
1:20 pm Police and emergency cars are leaving the Hambach Forest. We don’t know yet to which police station the three activists will be brought.
12:30 am The person at “Erster Streich” or “Birds’ Eye View” is leaving the tree after 8 days because she’s exhausted and running out of water. Police and emergency cars are around. Two supporters who wanted to watch the situation were arrested. You can read the diary of the person on the tree here.

Nov. 10th

3:00 pm At Erster Streich 3 cop cars, 3 fire engines, 2 or 3 rescue vehicles and 6-8 Secu cars appear, just to ask a person in the hammock if all is well and whether s-he wants to come down. As the first question was affirmed and the second was denied, all went off again, apart from the Secus.
8:31 am SMS from Dritter Streich: I’m sitting up here in a very old oak, I called him Amadeus. All other trees around me are being cut. It’s hard for me to see and hear every few minutes one of them falling. That’s the reason why I’m here, I just love the trees and the nature. Besides, almost right in front of me there is standing a coal excavator, another reason why I’m here. the trees must die Only for this hole. The glaring thing is that the RWE employees do all this just for money. Fucking capitalist society!
5:20 am Again security guards throw sticks to the hammocks of Erster Streich.

Nov. 9th

3:40 pm Three workers with chainsaws cut down trees in about 70 m distance from the Dritter Streich. Moreover they are felling at the embankment to the ancient Hambach railway at the moment.
10:53 am Three police officers for a quick visit to the Dritter Streich.
1:00 am Erster Streich gets support: Since this morning four more trees are occupied by two activists right in the grubbing area.

November 7th

1:00 pm The person has just been released from the police station. Their identity could not be determined, nor could fingerprints be taken.
10:00 am This morning, one activist left the tree occupation Erster Streich for power reasons and is now on the way to the police station.

November 6th

Demonstration in Cologne: About 4 p.m. about 50 supporters of the detainees gather in front of the prison. With loud voices and other means they make known their displeasure. About 5:30, the meeting is finished.
4:56 pm SMS from the hammock: “We’re still hanging about.”
2:19 pm Within sight of the occupations deforesting is going on throughout the day. Not a pleasant sight. That droning of engines and the falling of trees is depressing.
10:00 am There are still no signs of an eviction of the two occupations in sight.
7:50 am – Erster Streich is awakened by honking and dazzling with flashlights by RWE securities and they are asked if they need a doctor.

November 5th

4:34 pm They stopped throwing sticks and shifted apparently to psychological warfare [Trigger warning]: Yesterday a female read activist was filmed urinating. Now a secu, when he knew that she just was looking down, put himself in the middle of her field of vision to piss, so that she could see everything. When she turned away, he commented: “Very disgusting, isn’t it?”
4:24 pm The Securities under the Erster Streich are pelting the hammock now permanently with sticks. So this is the fair play and the constructive dialogue that is always demanded from the resistance?
3:18 pm
SMS from the treetops at Erster Streich: “A security car just cracked when turning pretty roughly in a woodpile 😀 After that, they were standing meekly around it for a while, now they just wobbled off. The pick-up is out of action at least for today. So here it really is not boring :)” How really nice that we no longer have to take care of everything ourselves…
1:57 pm At Erster Streich people of the insecurity service of RWE throw objects from below against one of the hammocks. They look a lot like sticks.
0:36 pm At the moment the tree occupations are left in peace.
8:00 am This was the first prank… we got the information that there is a second tree sitting! Second Prank is located between the old Hambach creek and the old highway, approximately at the level of Blutbuchingen. Currently it is occupied by three activists. It is a platform, five trees are connected by a continuous rope. This way, none of the trees can be felled without bringing the occupants in mortal danger.

November 4th
4:05 pm Police patrol car near the hangar of the nearby airfield.
4:00 pm A silver coloured mini-bus with 7 workers arrived – they are checking the area around the occupations.
3:45 pm A female activist is filmed by police and security while peeing – what the heck!?!
3:00 pm The occupied trees are spray-painted on their trunks.
11:30 am A police van arrived, the cops take pictures.
10:00 am Approximately 15 securities arrived, but they do nothing.
9 am Last night, an action group occupied several trees in the deforesting area. The new occupation is called “Erster Streich” (first prank, after Max and Moritz, A Story of Seven Boyish Pranks).

October 26th Last night, eight construction machines are sabotaged in the area which is to be prepared for the opencast mining. Claim of responsibility, original in German – Pictures

October 24th
04:00 pm Both are free again. A small addendum to the action can be found here.
01:50 pm The rails are free again, our prisoners not yet.

01:30 pm The train service is interrupted as before. At the moment the police begins to remove the activists from the track.
05:30 am About 5:30, two people chain themselves near Buir to the tracks or to a coal train of the coal railway “Hambachbahn”. mehr…

October 23th
The two arrested persons will be brought before a committing magistrate today.
WDR RWE-Mitarbeiter hetzen gegen Klimaaktivisten (RWE employees rushing against environmental activists) – audio
der Westen RWE-Mitarbeiter hetzen auf Facebook gegen “Öko-Terroristen” (RWE employees rushing on Facebook against “eco-terrorists”)

More pictures at the RWE trolls site Thank you, Carsten:)

October 22th Between 11 and 12 clock, two people were arrested. Info on the action in German.

October 21th At several hundred meters, the fence is converted in artful scrap sculptures, which now obstruct the traffic on the former A4 (security and police forces only).

October 20th The new fence turns out to be extremely unstable and falls over the entire length.

October 19th Along the former A4, RWE erected a 2 km long fence. This has, however, already in the same night a number of holes.

October 18th The walk through the forest meets as usual on the parking – sand pile at the former highway exit.

11:40 am Also at the main base of security personnel – the bridge with secu containers – were seen 5 to 7 police vans.

11:00 am Six police vans go to the bridge over the former motorway and position themselves there. Civil cops are walking near the meadow. Also near the railway station of Buir are still at least two police vans. Take care, if you are on the way to the meadow occupation!

08:00 am On three level crossings direction Buir police cars are spotted. People who spent the night near the meadow occupation in their car, are controlled after getting up. Police threatens with a search of the vehicle, if they do not identify.
Tip: Always ask in such situations after the Legal basis , this must be clear beforehand. If it is about a driver’s license and without suspicion vehicle inspection, the identity of the driver may be checked, nothing else. If it is a security check, it needs a search warrant to control the vehicle; these must be justified. Must be justified also “imminent danger”. More on the right of assembly code

October 18th Police is still present.

October 17th (blockade of the Hambachbahn)

Today, we’re having a party on the Hambachbahn! Come join us! You can contact the press team by dialling (+49)15780831914.

09:38 pm All are free now! 🙂

08:45 pm 4 activists have been released so far. According to the cops, one activist will be released every 5 minutes. People are welcomed by supporters outside of the cop station.

08:35 pm 3 are free.

08:00 pm From 26 imprisoned people the remaining 25 will be released starting 08:30.

04:50 pm Now, there’s a second police van on the meadow in front of the cop station.

03:50 pm According to police, a magistrate will soon decide how long our friends have to stay in the police station. Shortly after a cop announced that to the supporters, a police car drove zigzag around the grass area in front of the police station and a cop waved around with pepper spray. Now, the cops are taking their dogs for a walk, probably also as a means to demonstrate their power. It is estimated that our friends will be released by 9 pm.

03:33 pm There are 7 police vans at the train station in Buir. They are asking people for their identities

02:14 pm One person has been released out of custody. About 10 supporters are at the cop station in Aachen. Come and show solidarity!

01:50 pm Cops are asking people for their identity in/around Buir. They claim to be allowed to this because the people they’re controlling aren’t German citizens. Be careful!

01:04 pm 2 police cars are observing the meadow

12:22 pm The 26 people have been brought to Aachen!
Come around! Be loud!
The cops have meanwhile left the meadow

12:11 pm police cars (with cops in them 😉 ) are observing the meadow. Some police vans are on their way direction Morschenich, a nearby village

11:50 am All together 26 persons have been arrested

11:23 am According to the WDR, a German news station, all locked-on people have been evicted

11:15 am The third locked-on person has just been evicted

11:00 am According to the police the arrested peeps are being brought to the police station in Aachen

10:59 am Another locked-on person has been evicted

10:36 am One of the locked-on persons has been evicted

09:45 am The technical team expressed their displeasure that the lock-ons are so easy to open. The cop Berghauer told to the contact person of the locked ones that no one should be scared of the approaching train – it would stop before them.
At the moment 3 people are locked to the tracks with D-locks and will be evicted first. 4 others are locked in pairs in tubes.

09:35 am The technical team of the bastards reached the blockade and is preparing for eviction.

09:17 am Except four persons all not locked persons are evicted by cops and brought away in police vans.

08:41 am Some people are gathering at the side of the bridge. They are asked by the police to leave this area with the explanation, that “spectators traffic” is not wanted. In addition to this, the police arrested one person because they apparently have not obeyed the order to stay off the terrain. The person is currently being brought to the police station in Aachen.

08:12 am About 20 cops are going towards the train tracks. The eviction could start soon. According to the cops one person has been taken into custody.

07:51 am The press has now successfully been forced by the cops to leave the tracks. 11 cops are on the tracks now. The activists are still having a good time though.

07:47 am The cops are talking about an eviction. Quote from a cop: “We gotta beat them up on their way over the guardrail”

07:44 am Cops and Securities are trying to sent the press people away from the tracks.

07:31 am Two people were sent off the bridge by the cops. They’re not allowed to enter the bridge again within the next 24 hours. The cops stole a chocolate bar from them!

07:09 am A person standing on the bridge was harassed by the cops. They also took their identity and told them, without reason, not to throw objects from the bridge. The cops are present, but are leaving the occupation alone. They are searching for smaller groups in the area to harass them and find out their identity. Be careful! It is probably hard to join the occupation now.

06:58 am Now it’s about 20-25 cops on the tracks. People are singing songs about resistance against lignite mining. They sing songs of Mona & Hummel, Rover and other artists of the lignite mining resistance

06:51 am Now it’s about 7 police vans of whom 2 are patrolling at the locks a bit farer away from the blockade. There’s also security around. Take care!

06:48 am 5 police vans are around now. 15 riot cops are at the tracks. Six people are locked down. There’s a sitting blockade forming around a locked person.

06:24 am All cops have left the tracks now. Some press is doing an interview with people on the tracks.

06:18 am The 8 cops left, 4 other cops went to the tracks. 3 police vans are around. The activists are singing and are having a good time. They’re filmed by a growing amount of press people who gathered on the bridge as well as close to the tracks.

06:08 am Press and police arrived. 8 cops walked around the tracks and are now standing next to it. Chants are shouted. More cops are probably on their way.

05:40 am About 20 activists arrived at the Hambachbahn close to the train station in Buir. The traffic lights for the trains are red. People are locked down to the railway tracks. As far as we know, no incidents have happened so far.

Press

WDR Tagebaugegner blockieren Hambachbahn (Opencast opponents block Hambachbahn railway)
rp online Braunkohle-Demonstranten ketten sich an Gleise (Lignite protesters chain themselves to rails)
rundschau online/KStA Betrieb blockiert: Tagebaugegner ketten sich an Gleise der Hambachbahn (Mining blocked: open pit opponents chain themselves to the Hambach railway tracks)
radioerft Besetzung beendet (Occupation terminated)

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October 4th
02:50 p.m. The person is free!

02:30 p.m. After an impressive sprint, the ID card is given to the lawyer. Now it will turn out if it was fast enough. We just can wait.

02:10 p.m. The judge will only wait 10 min. for the identity card of the still arrested person!

12:30 a.m. Group 2 of the conveyor blockade action is released! Chained to each others, but free! So we’re just waiting for the person who is in the courthouse.

12:20 a.m. Group 1 (two persons) of the conveyor blockade action is free. And also the person arrested during the night is free! Those in group 2 of the conveyor blockade are apparently still in their V-Locks (arm locks to chain two people to each others). But soon they will be released too.

12:15 a.m. Now all four occupants of the conveyor are arrested. So there are now a total of six people in custody: The person who is brought before the committing magistrate, the person who was arrested last night and the people of the conveyor blockade.

12:00 a.m. Two militants (of four) of today’s conveyor blockade are in custody in Düren. Apparently, the occupation is being evicted or it is already done. In total, there are now four people of whom we know for sure they are in custody. Once the identity card of the person that has been arrested yesterday will come to the district court, we can assume they will be released, a lawyer said.

11:35 a.m. The current session is interrupted for two hours. The person brought before the committing magistrate must be released after giving his-her identity. She-he decided to do so.

11:00 a.m. The last person who was imprisoned yesterday after the excavator blockade remains in custody and will be brought before a judge of the District Court in Düren at 10:15. She-he is accused of attempted corporal injury, as he-she allegedly kicked an employee. Because her-his lawyer is not yet present, the audience is shifted backward.

04:30 a.m. Currently, both groups are no longer reachable…

03:50 a.m. At least four police officers on site. Team 1 is bombarded with the help of fire hoses. The two chained people are soaked to the skin and meanwhile it is getting cold.

03:37 a.m. First contact with group 2. Their plan to hang a hammock on the second main conveyor did not work. But the two conveyors are halted and consequently the entire open pit mine too!

02:40 a.m. One of the two main conveyors in the mine Hambach is blocked by activists who chained themselves. Some workers came by and started a competition of staring at the activists, but soon they gave up and left.
There are people who spend the night in front of the police station in Düren and so in the morning they will be happy to get hot drinks.

02:04 a.m. Two of those waiting retry to ask in the police station where the detainee was transferred. The police are not at all willing to inform, and instead one of the two people is drawn inside. They lead a dog around in the yard, and soon they set it upon the demonstrators in hot-headed cheers. A person is bitten in the arm, but s-he was lucky to get out without serious injury. The officials are very nervous.

One more of the supporters tempted to ask in the station where our friend is transferred to. However, as only response s-he gets a camera in front of her-his face.

01:30 a.m. From a speaker the voice of the arrested person resonates, from inside the police station. S-he does not really know where s-he will be transferred to and who is waiting in front of the station, and s-he thanks for the support. A patrol car stopped just after 4:00 in the yard and 4 people get in. By running to the other exit can be found out that our friend has been deported again.

October 3th
12:00 p.m. again a police van passes slowly by the waiting supporters and because of something burlesque the crowd was peppered from open windows. Then they drive away quickly. The protest becomes stronger and police threatening the use of pepper spray!

11:30 p.m. At the door of the detention center is singing, laughing, chanting slogans, the door is shaken. All this makes the police more and more nervous and finally they attack a peaceful person through the bars of the grid with pepper spray from 20 cm into the face.

11:00 p.m. More supporters arrive at the Gesa (Gefangenensammelstelle, detention center).

05:30 p.m. Three people are released, one person has to spend the night there on the orders of the judicial police. S-he must be brought before the magistrate before being released.

05:00 p.m. Occupation is cleared.

02:45 p.m. The situation is confused – obviously people are treated with painful locks (neutralization technique) in order to bring them out of the excavator. Some cops are laughing about that. We can not estimate the progress of the evacuation.

02:38 p.m. One of those remaining on the excavator is threatened with violence if s-he does not leave the excavator, and then s-he is removed from there, probably with violence.

02:35 p.m. Some police are trying to open the D-Lock on a person with bolt cutters, but that does not seem to be successful. Instead, they confiscate the phone of that person.

02:25 p.m. The two people who were encercled at the beginning of the action, are removed from the excavator.

02:19 p.m. To the one who is not chained is announced that s-he will be evicted soon.

02:05 p.m. A masked police unit with climbing equipment reaches the excavator. The suspicion is that they are members of the special unit SEK.

01:45 p.m. The climbing team tries to communicate with the occupants. It’s sunny. The excavator has been halted for more than 12 hours by now!

01:07 p.m. Two people with climbing harnesses arrive on the excavator. However, in civilian clothes.

01:06 p.m. RWE provides the forces of the State with bread rolls! The backpack of one of the occupants has been stolen. S-he gets water. No food.

12:09 a.m. All people are well and still on the excavator. Next to one group some cops bum bored about. On the ground: 11 security cars, an ambulance and an off-road bus of RWE.

10:32 a.m. The person who had climbed between the conveyors is exhausted because s-he lost her-his equipment, and s-he permits apparently willfully to be rappeled down.

09:51 a.m. At the group that was arrested by RWE, police units have arrived now. An elevator is approaching. So far, all the militants are well.

08:59 a.m. A policeman comes to the height of 35 meters and asks if people do not want to go. After a nod, he goes.

08:42 a.m. The connection of the excavator and the conveyor is busy too. Communication between the two groups is possible. The banner with “you destroy a wall but build another 1000 – no prison, no Frontex ’was stolen by avid workers of RWE. (Well, could it be now in the treasury of the club house?).

03:34 a.m. A helicopter of the state power circles above the forest and the meadow, and also looks in on the excavator.

02:53 a.m. Two Security cars at the bottom of the mine. The lower group is at a height of about 35 meters.

02:30 a.m. Firefighters arrive on site, the group that is surrounded by workers of RWE is rather well. Near the second group there are now workers, but they stay at a distance.

02:15 a.m. A person is chained by a D-Lock (A bicycle lock to chain the neck of oneself), workers of RWE say that the police are already there. Another lock-on is apparently thrown down by an RWE employee.

02:03 a.m. The people are separated into 2 groups – one is held by employees of RWE, the second found a safe place, although not at the top of the excavator.

01:56 a.m. They are higher on the excavator and are looking for a safe place.

01:30 a.m. The activists enter the excavator. Apparently they are sighted, since the bucket wheel slows down. They gather to find their way to the top.