Numerous problems prevented a full version of our feature, On Gogol Boulevard, from appearing in this issue. Look for its return. In the meantime, important events continue to be played out in Ex-Eastern Bloc countries and the Third World. Contact OGB at 528 Fifth St., Brooklyn NY 11215 or on the web at flag.blackened.net/agony for updates. Items prepared by the Fifth Estate staff.
Anti-Nazi Acquitted
Vaclav Jez, the Czech anarchist who shot a nazi-skinhead in self-defence (see “On Gogol Boulevard,” FE #351, Summer 1998) was acquitted in July. The case looked very bad for Jez. The state representative recommended 11 years in prison, but the judge agreed with Vaclav’s version of the incident.
The state representative appealed the ruling, so everything can change (the verdict is expected no sooner than six months). Vaclav isn’t free yet. He must spend another 18 months in prison because of an earlier sentence (20 months in prison for fighting nazis—he was living in a town full of this shit).
You can send him postcards/letters in any of the main Western languages (also Russian) via his girlfriend: Sonia Samalikova, Dvorska 18, 67801 Blansko, Czech Rep.
Vanunu Solidarity Week
The Israeli Committee for Mordechai Vanunu and for a Middle East Free of Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Weapons sponsored a September week of protest and solidarity to mark the 12th year of imprisonment for the Israeli nuclear whistle-blower. Vanunu spent 11-1/2 years in solitary and a parole was recently denied.
The international event noted that since Vanunu’s kidnapping and imprisonment 12 years ago, Israel continues to manufacture and stockpile nuclear weapons with no international supervision; environmental dangers surrounding Israel’s Dimona reactor remain hidden; and Vanunu’s human and civil rights continue to be abused.