THE CLOSE SUPERVISION CENTRE (CSC) IS PART OF A SYSTEM THAT REQUIRES ENDLESSLY GREATER PUNISHMENT AND RESOURCES TO DISCIPLINE PRISONERS FACING DEGRADING CONDITIONS ~ Kevan Thakrar ~ On 26 March 2010, I was condemned to the Close Supervision Centre (CSC) system following the false and malicious allegations from the corrupt employees of HMP Frankland, who claimed I had committed an unprovoked attack upon multiple prison officers there on the 13 March 2010. As was later proven in Newcastle Crown Court, I had actually unsuccessfully attempted to defend myself using lawful force against a brutal gang of racist prison officers. The CSC system is purportedly designed to detain only the most dangerous and disruptive prisoners, utilising Prison Rule 46 of the Prison Rules 1999 to effectively impose indefinite solitary confinement upon those of us allocated to it. The United Nations (UN) defines solitary confinement as an individual being kept locked inside a cell in isolation for at least 22-hours per day. The UN Nelson Mandela Rules prohibits this occurring in excess of 15-consecutive days, classifying any longer as inhumane which is precisely what the CSC is. Since its creation in 1998 following the Spurr Report by low-ranking prison official Michael Spurr, it has been misused as an unofficial punishment and plagued by endemic discrimination easily amounting to institutional racism and Islamophobia, as well as institutional corruption. This was exposed by the state itself when, during the rare occasion its prison inspection body (HMIP) conducted a ‘full inspection’ of CSC 2015, it was unable to ignore the fact that around half of the CSC population were Muslim. If not through discrimination, how else could a minority group possibly become the majority within the most oppressive conditions available within English prisons? Dare to resist the state or come from a minority background, and prison is where they send you; but resist within prison, especially as a minority, and the CSC is the state’s further retaliation. Moreover, many CSC victims suffer from extreme mental health conditions amounting to disabilities, often developed within the CSC itself, making us even more vulnerable. This failing system costs the taxpayer more than £200,000 per prisoner per year, which is over 4-times the amount spent to detain those within the mainstream prison population. Despite these exorbitant costs, the CSC continues to expand like a cancer. This has become supercharged from the moment since Spurr himself somehow managed to slime his way into becoming Director of HMPPS, the most senior role within the prison and probation service. Since March 2010, although the overall prison population has remained relatively stable, the CSC has almost tripled in capacity going from around 20 men (women have never been deemed dangerous enough to warrant detention within the CSC it seems) to almost 60. Although Spurr himself was unceremoniously dismissed for the chaos in prisons under his leadership, he had already appointed minions who share his sadistic views to senior positions. The CSC experiment forms part of a much wider structural drive for control and oppression by those in power within British society not limited to the vision of its lead architect. Richard Vince, a former CSC prison officer and who was appointed to Executive Director of High Security Prisons by Spurr, is currently pressing ahead on the Spurr agenda by creating another costly CSC unit. Their plan is to close part of G-wing in HMP Frankland, which is where I suffered the racist events leading to my CSC detention, and a large part of it re-designated as a CSC unit. As each CSC unit only operates with the consent of the Prison Officers Association (POA), they have ensured a wildly disproportionate ratio of them to prisoners. This enables them to feel safe to abuse the prisoners knowing back-up is ready should any resistance occur. Currently, HMP Frankland is due to be plunged into a staffing crisis impacting the entire prison. This will lead to lockdowns, and these lockdowns in turn will build frustration, leading to behaviour that will result in CSC referrals. This process of degrading standards leading to the need for even more CSC facilities is central to endless need for more resources in our prisons, despite the fact that prisoners themselves are living off as little as a £2 food budget per day. It should come as no surprise when the direction of prisons emulates society, which at this time includes increasing police numbers and powers, creating new oppressive anti-resistance laws, and greater exploitation of the poor and disadvantaged who are directed to fight each other for scarce affordable handouts. As the system expands, those referred to the CSC who would otherwise be returned to main population due to a lack of space become more likely to be condemned to the system, and the chances of those within the CSC progressing out of it diminish further. This same principle applies with the expansion of all forms of prisons regardless of name or their target, it is the ‘Field of Dreams’ concept, “If you build it, they will come”. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kevan Thakrar is one of the UK prisoners under ongoing solitary confinement under the Close Supervision Centre (CSC) system. He can be written to at: Kevan Thakrar A4907AE, HMP Whitemoor, Longhill Road, March PE15 0PR —- or via emailaprisoner.com The post Field of Nightmares: The never-ending expansion of torture units in England appeared first on Freedom News.

YELINSKY’S SHADOWS IN THE STRUGGLE FOR EQUALITY IS A MASTERFUL EXPLORATION OF HIS LIFETIME SUPPORTING POLITICAL PRISONERS ~ SoraLX ~ During the current crescendo of authoritarianism, and daily reports of students and activists branded “political enemies” being hustled into unmarked vans, it seems especially pertinent to consider the history and trajectory of a movement created for the very purpose of aiding such victims of state repression. Boris Yelensky’s Shadows in the Struggle for Equality: A History of the Anarchist Red Cross is his consideration of Russian revolutionary history, the origins and evolution of the ARC (later to become the Anarchist Black Cross), and his lifelong work aiding anarchist political prisoners. Boris Yelensky stands as one of the lesser-known figures in the history of anarchist struggle. Through the medium of his informal and immensely readable style, his retelling of his life and work encourages us to reconsider who is celebrated in revolutionary history. By his own account, Yelensky is not a theorist, but his story reveals a powerful and pragmatic organiser who devoted a lifetime’s worth of energy to the support of anarchist political prisoners. As Yelensky humbly asserts, “The work was not done for glory, but because we believed in mutual aid”. The primary text is flanked by a foreword written by editor Matthew Hart, a long-standing member of the Los Angeles chapter of the Anarchist Black Cross and archivist of the organisation’s history, as well as a set of appendices which include related primary sources and Hart’s own writing on the 1914 Lexington Avenue explosion and its relationship to the ARC. The 17 page-size black and white illustrations by artist N.O. Bonzo are a visual analogue to this reconsideration of canon. Each is portrait of an ARC/ABC member whose contributions may not be familiar to the reader, but are touched on as central to the movement’s history throughout the book. Bonzo’s graphic line drawings are a celebration and memorial of each comrade, their faces wreathed with floral Arts and Crafts-style garlands. Hart’s text provides a rigorous contextualisation of Yelensky’s narrative and a full accounting of the organisation, while the appendices breathe life into ARC’s history via the voices of its past members. Aside from neatly outlining the roots, rise, and complications of the ARC as an organisation, the book delivers what is nearly a parable of life lived in service to the cause. The complications of such work are well described throughout both Hart’s foreword and Yelensky’s own writing. The internal conflicts of the movement as it evolved from pre-1905 revolutionary Russia through and after the Second World War are on display. The narrative follows the course of the ARC throughout decades-long struggles to define itself, decisions about with whom to align, and how to best serve imprisoned comrades. The details and causes of the debate between those within the organisation who favoured aiding all self-described revolutionary political prisoners and those who felt that ARC relief should be directed singularly toward anarchists is well chronicled by both Yelensky and Hart. This question is still not easily resolved, and is addressed again and again throughout ARC’s history. As Yelensky writes, “It is only for lack of space which prevents me from quoting many other sources which would help to show how the foundation of a separate anarchist relief organisation was rendered necessary primarily by the inhumanely sectarian attitude of those social democrats who at the same time claimed to have an intention of bringing to an end the unjust society in which we were living then and which we unfortunately still live”. Yelensky’s text is scattered with primary sources, including letters from Alexander Berkman and Rudolph Rocker, which bring to life the particulars of the debate for modern readers. A letter from Berkman in response to his comrade Lillie Sarnoff is particularly charming and potentially relatable to the modern reader.  Berkman writes: “Concerning your remark that we cannot work with Left SR’s, I may tell you that we, at least I, could also not work together with many of the anarchists who are in the prisons of the Bolsheviki. Yet I am willing to help them, as prisoners”. Matthew Hart’s prologue is knowledgeable and thorough and gives extra contextualization of Yelensky’s writing, including decisions the Yelensky made to omit pieces of ARC history in his narrative. Given that Shadows numbers only 96 pages, however, I couldn’t help but feel that a 78-pages of Foreword and Introduction gave an impression that Yelensky’s own words were somehow insufficient. This is hardly the case, and any reader willing to delve into the history he relates so lucidly will be rewarded by his engaging text and its modern relevance. In all, Yelensky’s writing serves as masterful exploration of the labour of building and maintaining a revolutionary organisation; labour which has heretofore been underappreciated. The history provided makes clear the absolute necessity of the work of the Anarchist Red Cross—and the Anarchist Black Cross today—and delivers a template for readers seeking to understand how they might support anarchist prisoners. Shadows in The Struggle For Equality: The History of The Anarchist Red Cross, Boris Yelensky, edited by Matthew Hart, illustrations by N. O. Bonzo, 145 pages, PM Press, 2025. The post Book review: History of the Anarchist Red Cross appeared first on Freedom News.

THE FREED ANARCHIST PRISONER SPOKE ABOUT SOLIDARITY AND ABOLITION AT THE BRIGHTON COWLEY CLUB ~ Elizabeth Vasileva ~ A talk by anarchist ex-prisoner Toby Shone at the Cowley Club in Brighton drew almost 20 people on Friday (7 March). It was a nice atmosphere and a positive reception for Toby.   Friends and comrades writing, visiting, and organising firework demos outside the prison were immensely helpful in keeping his spirits up, he said. So was organising with other prisoners, supporting each other and showing solidarity. Toby observes that the system cannot accept prisoners showing solidarity with each other, and that is the real strength he found on the inside. “The state machine is terrified of the links we make with each other”, he says, arguing that the conditions in prison are emblematic of a society which has reached its end days. Listening to Toby, it is easy to conclude that the only appropriate action to take about prisons is to abolish them. Toby Shone was arrested under operation Adream in 2020 for involvement in project 325. Adream was an anti-terrorist investigation by multiple state agencies to against the 325 anarchist collective born out of rave culture and squats in Brighton in the early 2000s. They published a zine and a website, spreading information about various anarchist activities.   Toby was arrested following a few occasions where vehicles were burnt in the Bristol-Bath area. He was accused and charged with administering the 325 website for ‘distribution of terrorist publications’, ‘funding terrorism’ and ‘possession of information used for terrorist purposes’. A whole bunch of FAI, ELF and ALF direct actions were also pinned on him, while the police were raiding his house, his friends’ houses, collective project spaces and vehicles. Although it was acknowledged that there were no leaders, the state tried him on leadership charges and attempted to link his activities to foreign anarchist ‘bosses’ in Greece. Fortunately, few of these allegations stuck and Toby was ultimately kept on drug charges.   Solidarity march with Toby, Halloween 2022 In November 2024, Toby finally came out after 5 years in various high-security prisons. In the talk he focused mainly on prison conditions, a critique of the criminal justice system, the actions of state agencies to keep him there, and the support he received from comrades.  Prisons, Toby commented, are horrendous places: “Ain’t no human rights in jail. You get treated the way you get treated”. Lack of bedding, lack of proper food, lack of hygiene and sanitary facilities, rooms that have never been cleaned, no gyms or outdoor space…the list continues. This brings you down, but what is even worse is the way human beings get treated. For some, the isolation, trauma and pain are unbearable. People inside harm themselves in desperation, and nobody calls emergency services or even goes to check in on them. There is no ambiguity in Toby’s experience—human lives are wasted, there are no opportunities for rehabilitation, and rarely even possibilities for studying, self-development or any activities that make a meaningful life. “In these circumstances you need to find a reason inside you to be there. The reason is we are revolutionaries, we want a better world, we want it for everyone”, he said.   -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Top photo: Solidarity demo with Toby outside Cardiff probation office, March 2024 The post Toby Shone: “The state machine is terrified of the links we make with each other” appeared first on Freedom News.

THOSE CONVICTED OF ARSON WERE SENTENCED TO TERMS RANGING FROM 8.5 TO 23 YEARS ~ Sean Patterson ~ As reported by Solidarity Zone, on October 2 the Second Eastern District Military Court in Chita (far eastern Russia) sentenced thirteen young men to prison for acts of “sabotage and terrorism”. The group was accused of arson at strategic transit points along the Moscow-Krasnoyarsk line. Three of the defendants were further charged with conspiring to destroy fighter jets at a military base in the far eastern Primorsky territory. The prosecution alleged that these actions occurred between December 2022 and January 2023. The case against the defendants began in March 2024. Chita.ru reported at that time that “according to the investigation, an unknown person organised a criminal organisation, which, in addition to himself, included thirteen people. He did this to undermine the economic stability and defence capability of Russia and destabilise the activities of the Russian authorities so that they would cease the Special Military Operation [in Ukraine]”.    Those convicted of arson were sentenced to terms ranging from 8.5 to 23 years. Yegor Kusonets, 20-years-old, received the longest sentence of 23 years in prison. The first six years of Kusonets term will be served in an infamous krytka (“clink”) prison colony. These colonies are known for their extreme inhumane conditions, where “terrorists” and “especially dangerous criminals” are imprisoned. Inmates receive only 2.5 square meters of cell space—half the space allotted in normal prisons—and exercise is limited to two hours of walking in a cramped concrete box. Twenty-one-year-old Vladislav Turturgeshev was sentenced to 21 years in prison, and 20-year-old Artyom Begoyan to 20 years. Alexei Nifontov, 20-years-old, was charged with “assisting sabotage activities” and sentenced to 4 years. Other defendants in the case included Vadim Shekhter, who turned 18 in pre-trial detention, 20-year-old Matvey Kirillov, Karomatullokh Nematulloev, and Ilya Demeshov, 21-year-old Konstantin Zeltsev, 22-year-old Danil Volobuev and Yevgeny Elizarov, 25-year-old Vasily Nizhegorodov and 26-year-old Amal Igamberdiev. All of them were added to Rosfinmonitoring’s “List of Terrorists and Extremists.” The Russian government’s persecution of anti-war activists continues to intensify across the country. Earlier this year, three young anarchists from Chita—19-year-old Alexander Snezhkov, 16-year-old Lyubov Lizunova, and Vladislav Vishnevsky—were convicted on terrorism charges for writing graffiti and administering two anti-war telegram channels. Most recently, Russia’s Federal Security Service reported last Tuesday that they had detained 39 “pro-Ukrainian radicals” across the country for allegedly attempting to recruit young people on Discord to carry out acts of violence. To date, 1061 defendants face criminal charges in anti-war cases in Russia, and 325 individuals have been deprived of their freedom in pre-trial detention centres or correctional facilities. The post Russia: Thirteen people imprisoned for anti-war sabotage appeared first on Freedom News.