#title The Lives Of Others #author Charisis Foivos, Z.K. #date November 30, 2025 #source Retrieved on December 3rd, 2025 from https://actforfree.noblogs.org/2025/11/30/text-by-anarchist-charisis-foivos-and-z-k-athensgreece/ #lang en #pubdate 2025-12-04T23:49:18.345Z #topics privacy, Greece, Act for Freedom Now! #notes Translated by Act for Freedom Now! The purpose of this text is to inform the wider public about the stifling surveillance we have been subjected to by the “anti-terrorist” service over the last two months. However, it also serves as a clear warning that, one way or another, this blatant and intense violation of our personal lives and privacy will no longer be tolerated. Starting from the premise that in the public arena, priority should be given to fighters whose situation is far worse than ours, such as the dozens of political prisoners, the hundreds of persecuted men and women, the thousands beaten by the forced of repression, which in our country operate as gangs that leave battered people in their wake, we chose not to publicize our case until now. However, our stance, which stems from humble understanding, as explained above, has probably been interpreted as weakness by those in command on the 12th floor of Alexandras Avenue (The Headquarters of Athens General Police Directorate). They probably think that they will always have the green light to cast their dirty glances over our daily lives. That is why we are now openly and publicly denouncing the daily suffocating surveillance we have been subjected to for two months now by this particular service. We have never hidden our political beliefs and actions. The side of history we have chosen is that of struggle, resistance, and solidarity. A choice that, despite the difficulties we have encountered because of it, we have never regretted. However, in Greece, a country of indifferent and collaborators, anyone who tries to live with dignity in accordance with their time has always encountered the full vindictiveness of the state mechanism. Even today, certain aspects of the Greek state are reminiscent of a caricature of the post-civil war state of the right wing of the 1950s and 1960s. More specifically, if you are “known” to the authorities, especially the “anti-terrorist” authorities, you and your immediate friends and family environment are considered suspects of “terrorist activity.” Once you have “contemporary certification” for social beliefs, it is difficult to escape the scrutiny of the prosecuting authorities. This is the case for one of the signatories of the text (Charisis Foivos), with whom Z.K. has been in a relationship for the last six years. His embroilment with this particular service began a few months before his arrest in 2013, and although he has served his sentence and even the restrictive conditions he had after his release have ended, it appears that it continues to this day. Before we share the details concerning the intense surveillance over the last few months, we should mention that in previous years, due to the past involvement of one of us, there was sometimes discreet, sometimes more intense surveillance by this particular agency. Nevertheless, since September 22, we have been the targets of an intense psychological war. Every day, mainly in the afternoon and evening hours, large groups of “anti-terrorist” police officers gather at central points on Gyzi Street, a few meters from our house. At the same time, other officers pass by our house or the places where we walk, eat, or drink our coffee. They make U-turns in front of us, stare at us, or simply pass us by. They turn in front of us into narrow streets. They station in cars or on motorcycles to make their presence known. They park on sidewalks and crossings for disabled people, run red lights on Alexandras Avenue, and hang out for hours in cafes and souvlaki shops in the area. We are talking about dozens of vehicles and dozens of police officers who consume public money from all of us to “supervise” two people who know firsthand that for the last 2.5 years, due to a serious health issue faced by one of us, a large part of our free time is spent on procedures that are necessary either for his recovery or for his monitoring and overall rehabilitation. It is truly infuriating to see how much money is being spent every day on us, while at the same time we are experiencing firsthand the shortcomings in public health. How is there money for coffee, souvlaki, fuel, comms, and the salaries of dozens of police officers who deal with two people, while at the same time hospitals are lacking nursing staff and thousands of inexpensive medicines? At this point, we would like to emphasize another aspect. The entire situation we are attempting to describe—as comprehensively as possible—is a process that operates at the limits of legality. It is a vague framework within which all the actions by the specific service are carried out. It is as if someone has given them free rein to operate as a state within a state, accountable to no one and nothing. As for the (constitutionally guaranteed) “rights” of each and every person who is subject to the above? They are as non-existent as the famous “rule of law” they invoke. The same “rule of law” that imprisons volunteer forest firefighters, that kills 57 people in Tempi, that plunders public property, that allows thousands of the blue party parasites to live at the expense of others. The “rule of law” of illegal surveillance, direct collaborations, and banned demonstrations. The truth is that there are dozens, perhaps hundreds, of complaints like ours over the years. Those who fight for a better future have experienced variations of what we have described above. On the contrary, those who have not and will never experience it are those who primarily threaten the safety of citizens. The rapists of the “higher echelons” of society, the criminal organizations that plunder public wealth, the employers responsible for thousands of “workplace accidents,” the “corrupt” bankers, big businessmen, politicians, judges, and police officers who constitute the real and only organized crime in the country. In particular, the “anti”terrorist service, its current and former executives, are, according to many reports, involved in activities that fall within the entire spectrum of what the media calls organized crime. From gold smuggling and the execution of nightclub owners to protection rackets and robberies. Of course, all these officials either get off lightly or are acquitted by the non-existent “justice system.” We are not surprised. This is one of the many examples of the “rule of law” that we mentioned above. In closing this text, we would like to inform you that our response towards them so far has been non-escalatory. Only in the last week have we emphasized that this situation has begun to wear us down and can no longer be tolerated. Their reaction is to look away and remain silent, to walk away or pretend to be irrelevant and defy all common sense. We are therefore forced to publicize in as much detail as possible the situation we have been experiencing recently. A situation of bullying and blatant psychological warfare. For our part, we declare in every way possible that this attempt at psychological warfare will not only fall on deaf ears, but we are not willing to tolerate this theatre of the absurd much longer. Charisis Foivos Z.K.