After almost three months of protest across dozens of countries, with support pouring in from activists and organisations representing millions of workers, all political prisoners from the Awami Action Committee Gilgit-Baltistan (AAC-GB) have now been released on bail! None have been acquitted yet: the struggle goes on. But this huge victory nevertheless testifies to the immense power of international solidarity!

On 30 July, comrades of the Revolutionary Communist International assembled in 26 cities across 15 countries to demand freedom for political prisoners from the Awami Action Committee Gilgit-Baltistan (AAC-GB), held in torturous conditions on the order of the Pakistani state. This campaign now has the support of millions-strong labour organisations, and has been endorsed by hundreds of prominent politicians and activists. These efforts are paying off: all but two of the detainees have been granted bail. The lesson here is: solidarity works! Keep pushing, and we can win!

After spending two months as political prisoners, several leaders of the Awami Action Committee Gilgit-Baltistan (half the total number of detainees) have been granted bail. We expect them to be released today. On 30 July, the Revolutionary Communist International is calling for a day of action outside of Pakistani diplomatic buildings all over the world to demand freedom for the rest!

Today in Gilgit, the Anti-Terrorism Court rejected the bail application of Ehsan Ali and other leaders of the Awami Action Committee.

Leading members of the Awami Action Committee in the Pakistan-administered region of Gilgit Baltistan have been arrested. They are being held in appalling conditions, on trumped-up charges. Their crime? Standing up for working people and resisting the plunder of their lands! The Revolutionary Communist International is running a global campaign to secure the comrades’ release – and we need your help!

Despite state repression, protests have been held all over Gilgit Baltistan and in many cities in Pakistan for the release of the leaders of the Awami Action Committee Gilgit Baltistan, some of whom are members of the Inqalabi Communist Party (RCP).

The Revolutionary Communist International protests the arrest of the leaders of the Awaami Action Committee Gilgit Baltistan (AAC-GB) and of the Inqalabi Communist Party by police in Pakistan. We send our solidarity to the arrested comrades, who are facing repression for opposing the plunder of the land and resources of the region by the capitalists and imperialists. We call upon the labour movement internationally and all of our readers to protest this blatant act of repression.

Boris Kagarlitsky, one of the most prominent left-wing sociologists in Russia, was arrested on 25 July, and taken to Syktyvkar (Komi Republic, Russia) on 26 July. The same day, the local court placed him in custody for two months on “justification of terrorism” charges. If the court finds him guilty, Kagarlitsky could spend up to 7 years in prison.

The prominent Russian left-wing intellectual and academic Boris Kagarlitsky was detained by the Russian security services FSB on July 25, on the basis of a criminal investigation against him for “justifying terrorism”. He was transferred to Syktyvkar, the capital of the Komi Republic, where a tribunal decreed his preventative arrest. He can be held until September 24.

The Venezuelan Communist Party is facing a campaign of attacks, slanders, and a coup to usurp its legal and electoral registration from its democratically elected leadership, carried out by the PSUV and the government. The following statement of solidarity was approved unanimously by the leadership of the International Marxist Tendency at a meeting of its International Executive Committee this week. The sections and groups represented (from 30 countries) are listed at the end.

For almost half a year, the chairman of the Kurier trade union (representing food delivery couriers), Kirill Ukraintsev, has been in custody. He is charged with repeated violations of the law for holding public events. But in fact, he is being persecuted for legitimate trade union activities, and for defending the rights of one of the most disadvantaged and disenfranchised groups of the working class.

On Wednesday 9 February, climate activists Orla Murphy and Zac Lumley, will appear at the District Court in Dublin to face serious criminal damage charges, for which they could face up to a year in prison. The ‘crime’ they are accused of committing? Peacefully protesting against the inaction of the Irish government in the face of climate change by painting the words “No More Empty Promises” on the front of a government building. In the case of Zac Lumley, a supporter of the Irish Marxists (IMT Ireland), he is accused of merely live-streaming the protest.

We are pleased to announce that the appeal to support the work of the Trotsky House Museum has raised just over US$3500! The Leon Trotsky House Museum in Coyoacan, Mexico City, is a unique institution dedicated to preserving the legacy of the great Russian revolutionary. This is the house where Trotsky lived and worked in the last years of his life, with his wife Natalia and his grandson Esteban, until his assassination in 1940.

Please donate generously to support the Trotsky House Museum! Help preserve this invaluable piece of revolutionary history for future generations. 

The political, economic and social crisis triggered by the pandemic has affected all countries across the globe. It is yet another nail in the coffin of the old order, which is being questioned by the masses everywhere. In this context, we are calling on our comrades and supporters to donate generously and help us build the forces of Marxism! Join us in the fight!