Disappearing From State Control’ by fugitive anarchist Lukáš Borl
Confirmed: Lukáš Borl under police investigation
A statement of anarchist Lukáš Borl captured and imprisoned
Note from Insurrection News: What follows is a newly translated text that was written by anarchist comrade Lukáš Borl in September 2015, shortly after he made the decision to become a fugitive following serious police harassment and surveillance in the Czech Republic for suspected involvement with SRB / Network of Revolutionary Cells…
I´m an anarchist, a rebel and this means so much to me. Among others also that I´m threatened by those against which I fight. Besides other rebels it´s more complicated with us, anarchists. The threat is always here for us and it doesn’t matter what time or place we live in – in the position of fighters against all states the anarchists are always under the threat of repressions and violence. During monarchy, theocracy, fascist or bolshevik dictatorship, same as during the times of liberal democracy. All anarchists must live with knowing that everyday can appear the fist of the state repressions.
Anyway, even if I always feel this threat, I deaden my senses a lot during the years of my anarchist activities. I plainly didn’t care too much emotionally when some of the often repeated forms of repression came. They became a routine. Every moment cops violently attack anarchist demonstrations or evict a squat. Time after time somebody gets arrested and after a while released with a fine or probation. Nothing extraordinary in an anarchist environment. We don´t need to drown in despair because of this, we just need to cope with the conditions. I started to perceive these recurrent troubles as the inevitable result of anarchist activities. We just need to take into account, that if somebody fights against the state, the same state will fight back.
If we talk about these small “routine” repressions, we can live quite ordinary lives despite them. The police will have more and more information about your activities, but still, you can do your stuff and you can do it publicly. I’ve been doing this for around seventeen years. Police surveillance, interrogations, prison cells, courts. Fines and probation. So much of this during those seventeen years, but nothing that would prevent me from organizing or participating in anarchist activities in public.
The phase of my public activities reached the top, now it´s time for the phase of hiding. After long reasoning and considering the present context I decided to disappear from the eyes of the state control. At present I think it´s the only possible way I know of to protect myself against the crushing hit of repressions. Now I will try to outline the context and reasons that led me to this decision.
My current stance is the result of the last few months, but there is no doubt that I made all the most underlying decisions just few days before my disappearance. April 28, 2015 was the beginning of all of this. The day the police started the operation Fénix – this repressive campaign against the anarchist movement became some sort of breaking point. Transition from longtime mild repression into the strong one. Three anarchists ended in trial detention after the first raids and another one a few weeks later. Official version is, that it was an effort to eliminate Síť revolučních buněk (SRB) (SRB – Network of Revolutionary Cells) and leftist terrorism. But there is no doubt that SRB still functions. It’s also obvious that repression hits the wider anarchist movement and also the families and friends of anarchists. Besides the imprisoned comrades there are also other persons accused of crimes and prosecuted at “liberty”. Dozens of people are repeatedly interrogated and bullied. Some people are surveyed by whole police teams that track all their steps and communications. This situation has created a very oppressive atmosphere.
There were fines and probation before, but now the anarchists were imprisoned under very frightening conditions. Some comrades are accused of terrorism in the preparation phase. Concretely of planning the attack on the freight train with military material. Two undercover cops, who infiltrated one anarchist group played an important role in this case. Another comrade is accused of an attack against the house of the Czech minister of defense. The attack with molotov cocktails was – according to the police version – militant advocacy of Russia and the regime of Vladimir Putin. The truth is, that the persecuted anarchist is a Russian citizen, who was persecuted in Russia and has repeatedly stood against Putin, the Russian state and it´s regime during lectures in the Czech Republic. The defendant simply doesn’t have the motive. Moreover he has a provable alibi, that he was at another place during the time of the attack.
Simply, the anarchists in Czech Republic are going to the prison cells because of some absurd police fictions and provocations. This is the big reason for me, as an active anarchist, to start to worry, that I can be also imprisoned soon. Undoubtedly everybody from the anarchist movement can be imprisoned, so the question is, why I think that they want to imprison me. I can’t tell it with certainty of course, but there are some signals that suggest the probability is very high. I don´t want to disregard or detract this.
Dozens of anarchists throughout the Czech Republic where interrogated during the operation Fénix, some of them repeatedly. I talked with most of them about their experience. Almost everyone independently agreed on one thing – that I’m the person that police mostly focused on during the interrogations. According to trusted sources it was the same also during the interrogations of imprisoned anarchists. It isn’t meaningless coincidence and it surely has it’s reasons that can be connected with the effort to put me into prison. These interrogations can be the way, for them to obtain documentation for an arrest warrant. It doesn’t matter if the documentation will have some real basis or if it will be the result of police manipulations with the statements. It will trouble either way.
There can be many reasons, why they focus their attention on me so strongly. Perhaps that I’m publicly involved in projects, that leads to approximation of the anarchist movement and the people outside it. Or maybe it´s the activities around the community center Ateneo*** or the activities to support workers bullied by their bosses. Police can see me as a person who significantly contributes to popularize anarchist tactics and goals. This kind of person is a threat for the status quo everywhere around the globe and police try to eliminate their influence.
There is also truth, that in lectures, public discussions and in publications I repeatedly and openly advocate for the illegal direct action as an integral part of anti-capitalist resistance. Police can see high risk in this, because I can maybe inspire or support some people to do these illegal direct actions. It’s also known thing, that I’m a member of Association Alerta, that reproduces SRB and other militant group’s statements on the internet. There´s no secret that I’m also distributing publications and some of them are presenting texts from groups and individuals beyond the borders of legality like Revolutionary Struggle, Class War, A.L.F. , Angry Brigade, Alfredo M. Bonnano or Antonio Tellez. I don´t agree with them in some of their activities and stances, but mainly I do and that’s the reason why I spread their texts and verbally express sympathy with them.
So, I’m just loudly saying things, that many anarchist only dare to say secretly, so nobody can hear them. I’m helping to spread information about illegal direct actions and encouraging others to support them. I also repeatedly declared, that as an anarchist, I don’t want to bound myself with statutory norms and I will cross it´s borders everywhere, where I think it´s legitimate. I have no doubt that police want to stop all of this and perhaps also with the help of imprisonment.
I don’t want to overestimate my abilities and influence, but i have no doubt, that the police hate everything I do. They have enough reasons to try to stop me. Just what police presented as a reason for the raid on community center Ateneo is a big warning. Some sort of message: “Don’t have a doubt, we are coming after you”. They submitted injunctions for house searches on four places, where I spent much time and they justified it by suspecting me as a person who founded, supported and propagated the SRB. If police use these suspicions to justify raids, it’s reasonable to worry that they want to turn these suspicions into charges and severe punishment. I don’t want to stand by and wait what happens.
I already mention increased attention on my person during police interrogations. I would like to remind everyone, that this is just one of many cases where I experienced this increase in attention. During the last months this attention was very present during my everyday life. As I wrote, there was a team of undercover cops that tracked all my steps and communication (link 1, 2, 3). There were days that I couldn’t move without their presence and also this intense surveillance fits into the theories of my arrest. And it seems like, they don´t want just me. I think, that there are two goals, that police want to achieve with surveillance.
Goal One: Uncovering links and relations. They want to know with who I’m in touch, what we’re doing together and on what we cooperate. They expect, that I will lead them to people, who can then be easily convicted of illegal activities. They assume, that if I openly advocate for illegal activities and spread information about it, I must also know people who are involved in such activities.
Goal Two: They want to accuse me of illegal activities. They are watching me with expectation, that I will do something illegal sooner or later and they will record it. Eventually that I will do something, that will draw the connection between me and something illegal from the past. I’m afraid that even if this leads to nothing and the police can’t connect me with anything illegal, they will create some evidence themselves. It will be the same thing that happened to anarchists who ended up in custody with allegations of serious crimes, because of some doubtful claims of the police.
If the police in the Czech Republic arrested people because of some obviously fictional constructs, it´s very easy to believe, that they want to do the same to me. I described the motives that can lead the police to arrest me and also the things that can be counted as a preparation for such a move. All of this led me to my decision, that only way to prevent this, is to simply disappear from the sight of the police and the government. If they don’t know where I am and what I am doing, they don’t have the conditions needed for my imprisonment.
Now, I want to emphasize one important thing. I´m aware, that my theories about my imprisonment are based on assumptions. There is no way that I can prove them now of course. If the theory of my imprisonment will proved invalid, my decision to disappear will remain anyway. The reason is the will to keep my dignity and health.
To live under constant police surveillance is unsustainable in the long term. In situations like this, you will lost not only your privacy and dignity, but you are also exposed to huge psychological pressure, that can undermine your health very easily. Paranoia and other psychical and emotional problems are common results in such situations. I know cases of people, that needed to seek psychiatric treatment because of intensive police control, their health was undermined and maybe it can’t be fully restored. I want to prevent this, so I will hide rather then live in the conditions of permanent control.
I want to hide rather than sit in the prison or hospital. Now I see only these three options, so my decision is clear. Disappear while I can. If I say, that my decision is clear, I don’t say it is easy. It’s damn hard to decide to disappear without farewell and lose contact with people I have known for years. But such a decision is the result of a logical evaluation of the situation. It´s also a self-preservation instinct.
Of course I would rather live normally in close contact with all the people I know, but this is impossible now. The decision to secede from friends and family is the consequence of a situation which my enemies pushed me into. I have no intention to forgive them. I´m hiding from their sight also because I want to plan my next moves in the struggle undisturbed, so I can subvert their beliefs. Simply put, if I’m disappearing from the sight of the police and government it doesn’t mean that I’m no longer part of an anarchist resistance.
Last words I’m sending to those who I love. If I’m disappearing from the sight of all of you – friends and family, it doesn’t mean that I’m leaving you! We don´t see each other and we don’t talk together now, but you are always an important part of my life. I don´t have a doubt, that I’m also still an important part of yours.
I love you, I’m thinking of you and I miss you.
<strong>Lukáš Borl – September 2015
On 24th October 2015 was my article published on the Association of Alerta’s website. Where I‘ve expressed the suspicion that the police want to arrest me and imprison me. This suspicion has become the reason of my disappearance from the perspective of the state power. In less than a month after the publication, my suspicions were confirmed. On 12th November 2015, according to the police website, it’s been confirmed that they’re searching for me as you can see here:
From the realm of conjecture, therefore, we move into the realm of facts. It’s now confirmed that I am under the police investigation. I don’t exactly know what that means for me and what’s gonna happen. I don’t know what I’m accused of. But I’m sure that meanwhile I am enjoying my freedom, the police would rather see me locked in a cage, which exists under the ”code name” prison.
Despite the fact that my enemies think I’m hiding in some hole, I am certainly not. I’m moving freely in various countries and cities. I’m aware of the risks that are associated with it. But I can’t be sure whether everyone else is aware of those risks. So everyone, please, respect the following prompt:
If you’ve seen me. Doesn’t matter who, where and when. Act like you had not seen me and don’t even talk about it. Ever! If you spoke with someone who claims that they saw me, try to convince them to not talk about it. But don’t do this over the phone or the internet.
If you wouldn’t respect this call, it would be very irresponsible of you and it might have some tragic consequences. In worse-case scenario it would be taken as an unacceptable informing.
On the police website there is right next to my picture and columns “dangerous” and ”armed” stated ”YES”. And I need to confirm this again. Yes, I’m dangerous and armed!
I’m dangerous! I present a security risk for the stability of capitalism. A system, that provides extreme wealth for minority, privilege and power, while the majority condemned are destined to poverty and social insecurity. To existence of a conditional willingness to let the bosses to exploit and oppress us by the bureaucratic and political managers of misery. I’m dangerous for capitalism and states, that ensures its continuation. I’m dangerous because I’m united in a common struggle with those who want to put an end to capitalism and state. From the perspective of the police I’m dangerous because I refuse to adapt to the conditions of exploitation and because I encourages others to rage against them. I’m dangerous because instead of living on my knees I prefer upright stance. Beyond the laws, but with pride. With dignity of a creature, that prefers joyful logic of fight and rejects the mentality of compliance.
I’m armed! I’m armed with solidarity, the desire for freedom, courage and other weapons. I don’t hesitate to use those weapons to defend my interests as well as others’, who are just like me underprivileged, people that capitalism holds in misery, exploits, tortures and murders them. The police would rather see me unarmed. In other words: without solidarity, being adaptive, resigned and paralyzed by fear. Too bad for them. The advantage is on my side. I’m armed, therefore, supportive, optimistic and unfettered by fear.
I’m still strong and unbreakable. I draw energy from the solidarity of other anarchists in various parts of the world. With the same enthusiasm and I’m trying to be supportive to them. Providing some resources to them and helping them. Energy, motivation and strength. I’m not alone and they’re not alone. That’s what keeps us alive. That’s what allows us to go forward.
Lukáš Borl – February 2016
On Sunday, September 4th, 2016, I was arrested by the police in Most and then taken to the remand prison in Litomerice. Unfortunately it happened what I did not want to, but knew all along that this may occur at any time. Fortunately, I have mentally prepared myself for such situation so it allows me to deal calmly with this kind of unpleasant reality, which I’m and apparently people close to me are exposed to now.
I was captured by those who defend the rule of capital over our lives. Nevertheless, that doesn’t change anything on my will to continue along the path that I have chosen. I will continue to destroy and create. To fight and love. I remain an anarchist with everything that belongs to it. I decided for now to write a few paragraphs about my imprisonment. Surely I will soon express my opinion about other issues that I consider important.
It’s no secret that at a certain moment I decided to “disappear”, in worry that the police was planning my arrest. I have expressed my reasons in the text “Disappearance of supervision of state power”, which is published various sites of the anarchist movement. The choice I made, allowed me to live hidden and quite happily for months. I freely moved and ate a good food. Whole world became home for me, and I was able to find havens for cultural and social existence in it. Because of emotional and material support I had enough energy to keep fighting for emancipation. I knew about the risks associated with it, but I have never thought about to finish with that and I do not think of it even now. To break free from dictatorship of the state and capitalism is an enough attractive aim, that it is impossible to turn away my attention from it. Even the fact that the power is threatening me with finger, baton or prison… Being an anarchist means to me to understand such threats as an inevitable consequence of my expressed desire for freedom. It is connected with daily rebel life. Fact that I can not avoided, but I can defy it. What I do and I will keep doing.
Police arrested me in Most, a small city where I was born and lived for a long time. I have part of my family and many friends there. In Most with some people we run a community center “Ateneo” and organized a long series of events associated with the anarchist movement. In short, in this city I’m quite known person, both to the population and the police and bureaucrats.
For some people it will be a manifestation of “stupidity” that I had decided to come into the city, where in the same time I was the subject of a European arrest warrant. Even if my closest people would think so, I will not blame them. Because they look at the matter from a different position than I do. So I do understand that some people don’t find a comprehension for the thoughts and actions of a person who is in the underground for longer time. The life of person on the run is connected with the separation from the people who he/she loves and whom previously had been in close and frequent contact with. It’s one of the hardest thing, that a person in such a situation has to deal with. Fundraising, food, shelter or providing security in contrast, are relatively easy tasks. There are two ways how to deal with such separation. Either accept it passively, which also means expose yourself to the suffering and unending frustration. Or try to overcome the separation with occasional contacts, which of course greatly increases the risk of getting caught by the police. I “instinctively” chose the second option. I knew what I was risking and what I could lose. But, I also knew, that in isolation I can lose something, what is very important to me – contacts with people I care about and who care about me. That’s why I decided to come to Most, knowing the risks.
Everything could go smoothly and soon I would move to a safer place, it was not a difficult task, and I had carefully prepared for it. But as everyone surely knows, into our lives, sometimes enter unexpected events, which can not be predicted, nor reversed. In such cases does not help the preparation nor the will or abilities. We are dragged by events without being able to prevent them or change them. That’s exactly what happened in my case. As a result, I not only failed to make contact, but also I was arrested. I will not explain now, why and how it happened. Perhaps I will do so later.
Shortly after the arrest, was presented to me a resolution to initiate criminal prosecution. During the whole process, I decided to exercise the right to remain silent. The case is investigated by the police department for Combating Organized Crime (ÚOOZ). They accuse me for the foundation, supporting and promoting a movement aimed at suppressing human rights and freedoms. According ÚOOZ I founded a Network of revolutionary cells (SRB), participated in some SRB’s events and I wrote some SRB’s communiqués and published them on the “Asociace Alerta” website. Further they claim that I have committed violation of possession, damaging property of another, 4 times. Twice during an arson attack on a police car. Once during an arson attack on a shop door. And once by spraying on the wall of Prague prison Ruzyne. Finally I am also accused by ÚOOZ for blackmailing the owner of steak restaurant “Řízkárna”.
I carefully studied all accusations to find out on what bases ÚOOZ beliefs that I committed those acts. Honestly, it really calmed me down, because those “proofs” are a mixture of speculation and evaluation of the “trails”, which in fact doesn’t prove my involvement in those acts.
As is known, I have no sympathies for judicial system. I consider it as part of the repressive instruments of capitalism, of which I am an opponent. Nevertheless, I decided to try to defend myself in court regarding the weak “evidences” that the ÚOOZ presents against me. I realize that this election means fight on the enemy’s territory with limited resources. That’s the reason why I don’t have exaggerated expectations or illusions that the court would be an independent institution that could serve to emancipation struggle.
I will defend myself in court, but I still stand behind that the anarchist struggle must be based primarily on the subversive logic of direct action rather than relying on institutional instruments of the state and indirect (representatives mediated) forms of action. From what I have been saying and doing since years, it’s clear what kind of struggle I prefer. I will keep acting according to that and I want the same from the people who is in solidarity with me.
During my hiding period, the police and the media denominated me as dangerous and armed. I confirmed it in a text -Lukáš Borl v hledáčku policie. (Lukas Borl in viewfinder of the police.) After the arrest, the police take away from me my defensive pepper spray, knuckleduster, a gas pistol with two magazines and 23 rounds (ed. These weapons are in the Czech Republic legally available without a gun license). Now they keep me in jail. I stand by the fact that I’m still armed and dangerous. Dangerous (to capitalism), because, even behind the bars I refuse to adapt to the conditions of exploitation and encourages the others to rebel against them. I’m still armed because of my willingness to be solidary. Up to this moment they weren’t able to take it away from me and recorded it as a matter of importance for criminal proceedings. Solidarity and rebelliousness are weapons that I still have on me and I’m ready to use it. I have done that already, I do that now and I will keep doing it.
As an anarchist, I was always aware of the possibility to be arrest. Every regime after all, suppress its opposition in such a manner. Now I am in pre-trial detention jail, but do not consider it as the end of the anarchist path. Jail is just one of many phases of that revolutionary may (but need not) go through. It’s not the end. Only a change of circumstances and ground where I will now struggle against the perpetrators of oppression. I am pleased that It can keep fighting together with other anarchists. With those, who understand that collective struggle is the only way out of capitalist mud.
Anyone who feels the need to support me can choose own way and timing according to own considerations. I will not tell anyone what to do and how. But I explicitly don’t want to see anyone, without my consent, to disclaim direct actions done in my support. If I don’t agree with any action, I will express that by myself, if I consider it important.
An advice for those who doubt about what action would be welcome: get information about my past, to understand what ideological positions I stand for. If this is understandable for you. Then it will make you lose any doubts about what action I would welcome and which not. No time to lose.
No social peace with those who oppress and exploit us. The struggle continues!
Anarchist greetings from prison!
Your brother, friend, comrade Lukáš Borl – 11.9.2016, Litoměřice