Prison activist's death sparks uprising in women's prison of Thebes, Greece

Submitted by taxikipali on Mar 22 2009

The second uprising in the Greek prisons in only two days was sparked by the death of Katerina Goulioni, inmate activist against vaginal inspection in jail. Clashes have erupted outside the prison between riot police and solidarity protesters. Koridalos Athens prisons also in turmoil.

The death of Katerina Goulioni, a female prison activist known for her struggle against vaginal inspection of inmates sparked a violent uprising in the Women's Prison of Thebes on Sunday 22/3. Inmates have refused to return to their cells, and are setting fires and smashing the jail premises, while a protest march in solidarity to Goulioni clashed with riot police forces outside the prison. One section of the prison is said to be seriously burned.

Tension is also evident in the central Athens prison of Koridallos where 200 inmates are staging a protest in solidarity to the Theban uprising. The Minister of Justice, Dendias, notorious for his recent police-state legislations, has refused to allow the Initiative for Prisoner's Rights to visit the rebel inmates, saying he will not tolerate "left wing threats".

Katerina Goulioni's last letter to the Initiative for Prisoners' Rights published in the Communist Newspaper Epoxi is revealing of the activist's struggle with the prison authorities: "I hit the chief-screw because besides everything he had me locked in isolation in Koridallos Prison and I had to pee in a bottle". Besides her struggle against vaginal inspection which she has termed "informal rape", in letters past, Katerina has denounced the conditions of prison transfer, a process during which many inmates lose their life under suspicious conditions, the lack of facilities for prisoners with special mobility needs.

Goulioni's co-inmates have sent the press the following goodbye note to their comrade:

"All your life was full of thirst. Thirst for struggle and justice. You fought for all and for everything without care for the consequences. And at the end the consequences of your struggles rewarded you in the worse of manners, with a violent, unexpected sudden death. But we are still here, Katerina, and we shall remember you and continue the struggle you began. You are everywhere. We sense you and we thank you for taking care of us. For us, you will live for ever. Have a great journey!"

~ libcom.org ~


Greek prisoner activist found dead during prisoner transfer

20 March 2009
Early on Wednesday morning, a Greek prisoner actively engaged in defending prisoners’ rights was found dead. Katerina Goulioni and other prisoners were being transferred on a ferry from Thiva women’s prison in Greece to Neapoli prison on Crete.

It is alleged that, during the transport, she was seated at a distance from other prisoners and that her hands were tied behind her back. Other prisoners are reported to have said that she looked as if she had been hit in the face.

Katerina Goulioni contacted Amnesty International on several occasions to report on the inhuman treatment of prisoners and prison conditions for women, including at Thiva prison, near Athens, and at Diavata prison, Thessaloniki.

She informed Amnesty International that she had lodged complaints with the Greek Ombudsperson, including one in February 2009, and the prison governor of Thiva prison. She also appeared in a television documentary just before her death.

Katerina Goulioni had also been actively involved in Amnesty International’s campaigns by collecting petition signatures from Thiva prisoners. She told members of Amnesty International Greece on 17 March 2009 that the organization’s campaigning materials had recently been removed from her cell together with other human rights documents and that some materials had not been delivered at all.

According to information provided by the Greek Ministry of Justice, Katerina Goulioni died of a heart attack. The official coroner’s report is expected next week.

Amnesty International is calling on the Greek authorities to carry out a full, prompt, independent and impartial investigation into the full circumstances of the death of Katerina Goulioni; and into the complaints that she had lodged about the treatment of women prisoners.

~ Amnesty International ~