Introduction
In recent times Australia and other countries have seen the introduction and threat of new laws aimed at further criminalizing blockades, lock-ons and other forms of non-violent direct action. The following resources canvas a range of ways in which campaigners and protesters have responded to arrest and imprisonment for political activities. Whilst much of the information can be applied in various circumstances note that any advice regarding regulations and laws will generally be relevant only to the specific places covered. Readers should check local laws and prison regulations as required.At times, risking arrest may be a planned part of our action: in other situations we may deeply desire to avoid it. Nevertheless, activists get arrested. Planning, preparation, support and solidarity can help us protect each other and continue to build our movement. – Starhawk, 2001
Guides and Handbooks
Supporting Arrestees A number of guides from Activist Rights covering supporting arrestees in a range of situations, making complaints about police, employing strategies to cope and deal with arrest and prison, and more. Beautiful Trouble’s guide to Jail Solidarity This chapter from the Beautiful Trouble book discusses the importance of jail solidarity, discusses tactics, and provides an example from Malaysia.Jail solidarity breaks the fear barrier created by isolation, creates a community of support, and amplifies the message behind the original arrest, helping to raise issues that were invisible prior to the activist’s imprisonment. It undermines the state’s effort to silence dissent and transforms an otherwise unbearable incarceration into something bearable, even powerful. – Beautiful Trouble’s guide to Jail SolidarityOrganizing Support and Solidarity for Arrestees A guide by ecofeminist activist Starhawk to planning for the possibility of arrests and setting up practical support and solidarity for arrestees. How to Use Jail/Court Solidarity A short guide to how jail solidarity can be employed to help arrestees look after one another and defend those at particular risk from harassment and repression. MALS Legal Observer Handbook A guide by the Melbourne Activist Legal Support team regarding the role legal observers can play before, during and after protests in order to become a credible witness in the case of a potential criminal court case and to compile public reports after the event. Earth First! Direct Action Handbook: Sound of the Police In addition to providing a guide to numerous direct action and blockading techniques the Earth First! Direct Action Handbook includes a chapter discussing typical legal steps and choice points, police tactics, and how to conduct prisoner support. Jail Support and Solidarity An article by the Midnight Special Law Collective and Katya Komisaruk which outlines a variety of non-cooperation and jail support techniques.
Although jails and courts are designed to make us feel powerless, through solidarity we can gain better control over what happens to us, by making decisions as a group; by acting in unity with each other; and by committing ourselves to safeguard each other’s well being. – Jail Support and SolidarityActivist Rights Knowledge Base Created by the Fitzroy Legal Service this website includes a range of resources for Australian and other activists including preparing for protests, commons responses by authorities, and more. Creating a Rapid Response System This article by Mobilisation Labs outlines how Ugandan activists have successfully used a four step system and provides six basic guidelines for organising solidarity ahead of arrests and repression.
Jail Solidarity advice from Pledge of Resistance
This excerpt from Pledge of Resistance’s Basta! Handbook discusses responses to divisive and intimidating tactics used by authorities against arrestees and prisoners.
Human Rights First Prison Activism Guide
A short guide to prison activism that was compiled in 2017 to assist human rights activists who are at risk of being jailed. It is split into two parts. The first section offers an overview of some techniques used by activists to defend themselves and help others while they are in detention. The second section describes specific activists’ experiences in a variety of countries.
Some activists bring skills into prison other prisoners don’t have. Jailed lawyers can help fellow inmates fill out forms and paperwork, medics can help sick prisoners who have not received adequate medical attention. – Human Rights First Prison Activism GuideSolidarity in Action: A Guide to Visiting Incarcerated Community Members A detailed prison visit guide prepared by members of the Sylvia Rivera Law Project (SRLP) which covers information related to setting up a visit, preparing for it, undertaking self care during it, and what to do afterwards. Writing to Political Prisoners A brief guide to letter writing as a form of showing solidarity with political prisoners.
IRL Prison Solidarity Network IRL Prison Solidarity Network coordinates an Australian letter writing program that is open to people inside prisons in all states and territories. The website includes A guide to letter writing alongside people in prison.
Writing letters is a way to challenge the forced isolation and state erasure of people in prison…We write to remind people in prison that they. are cared about, even in conditions where the state treats them as disposable. – Incendium Radical Library
Stories and Studies
With the intensified use of militaristic, violent, and repressive domestic policing methods, activists are increasingly forced to spend time in jail and endure criminal prosecution for their actions. But, by using certain tactics collectively, activists have mitigated harm in jail and achieved objectives that would have been impossible through individual action. – Kris Hermes, 2016Two Years of Activist Legal Solidarity: A case study of the BLOCKADE IMARC 2019 – Arrestee Support Team A case study discussing how activists planned for possible arrests at the 2019 blockade of the International Mining and Resources Conference. It also details how they provided support for arrestees during the protests as well as in the court cases that followed. Paradigm Shift interview with Violet Coco and Colette Harmsen about going to prison for protecting the planet This podcast includes a long conversation with environmental activists Violet Coco and Colette Harmsen. Both of them speak about the virtues of non-violent direct action, about how to survive prison and house arrest, about government repression and more. Other Paradigm Shift interviews about activism and prison can be found here. Collective Action Behind Bars An article from legal-worker and activist Kris Hermes which discusses a range of approaches to jail solidarity as well as the history of campaigns including the IWW free speech fights of the early 1900s, the civil rights movements of the 1950s and 1960s and global justice convergences and prison strikes in more recent times. Effective action for social change: The campaign to save the Franklin River Chapter 10 from this evaluation of the blockade to save Tasmania’s Franklin River discusses how jail protest was used in response to mass arrests. 20 Years on the Inside with Vickie Roach Yuin woman, abolitionist and advocate for Aboriginal women in prison Vickie Roach reflects on her experiences of how incarcerated people understand and practice politics as well as how the Beyond The Bars radio project has given voice to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Victorian prisons.
In the space afforded by letters, the Prisoner Correspondence Project challenges the injustices and mechanisms of the prison system. The collective writes while envisioning a world without incarceration, knowing that when members of our communities are imprisoned, we are all bound. – Pen-pal SolidarityThe Global Justice Movement’s Use of “Jail Solidarity” as a Response to Police Repression and Arrest An academic article by Beverley Yuen Thompson which discusses how global justice activists responded to arrests and jailings during the US demonstrations and blockades during the 2000s. Reset 6: Centring Justice & Care This set of readings and resources for the Reset Reading Group resources was curated and introduced by Roj Amedi. They and the allied discussion points raise issues related to the meaning of justice, including its connection to prisons and the legal system.