U.S. protester from Vermont falsely arrested and beaten in Thessaloniki during E.U. Summit protests. Released on bail, then re-arrested for deporation.

On Saturday, June 22, during the protests surrounding the E.U. summit in Thessaloniki, Greece, Jonathan 'Slug' Crowell was arrested while peacefully walking with friends to a Greek Social Forum concert.

Upon arrival at the station, those arreested were forced to walk past a long line of police baying for blood. They formed a gauntlet with police on either side of the arrested. The arrestees were forced to walk through this gauntlet and were kicked and beaten with police batons.

Once in the holding cells, they were left in handcuffs for the majority of the time.One particularly twisted officer kept jumping up on the cell doors and screaming in Greek (and later he provided an English translation for Jonathan) that he was going to rape them with his baton TODAY, as well as fuck their mothers and fathers.
Jonathan, an American from Vermont, was held for four days in custody, awaiting a bail hearing.

Jonathan has been charged with "possesion of molotovs, intent to use molotovs and rioting" according to his lawyer. This is a blanket charge imposed on everyone arrested on Saturday, regardless of evidence. Any participation in the protests has been criminalised by the Greek state. Jonathan was subsequently bailed for 1500 euros,and was released, free to travel, until his trial.

Only an hour after being released from jail, Jonathan walked down the street to claim his passport at the police station, a few blocks away from the courthouse. The officers would only allow Jonathan to enter by himself.
Once inside the station, he was re-arrested! According to his lawyer, he was arrested on an order of deportation by the Greek government, being deemed "a threat to society".

He is being held for a maximum of ten days in a detention centre notorious for torture and mistreatment. Despite having a strong case and good legal representation he will almost ceratinly be deported to the U.S. If deported he will be banned from entering the Schengen area (most EU countries) for up to 12 years. Once deported, he can return to Greece only for the trial. If he loses the case, he will be faced with five to twenty years in prison, and he will banned forever from Schengen.

He is still required to pay the 1500 euro bail (although he was only free for less than an hour) and must return to Greece in several months if deported. Jonathan is currently trying to appeal the deportation, but is unlikely to win.

Those of us who are Jonathan's friends know him to be an incredibly generous and humble person who is clearly being framed. He is suffering cruel and unusual punishment for something he didn't do at all.

When an address becomes available, we will post it so people can contact Jonathan in jail.
Soon we will have an account set up where people can make donations for legal fees for Jonathan and the others who are still in jail.
For more information on his case, you can contact:
noju...@hushmail.com