Exarchia: 16 arrests for yesterday’s incidents in the center of Athens

Announcement about yesterday’s incidents that took place in the center of Athens during a protest gathering for the construction of a metro station in Exarcheion Square, ELAS issued.

In particular, it is reported that yesterday, at approximately 19:00, a gathering of approximately 400 people took place in Propylaia, following the call of various organizations and collectives. As ELAS points out, a decision of the Athens Police Department (in accordance with Law 4703/2020 on “Public outdoor assemblies”) had been issued and communicated to the organizers of the meeting, for the demarcation of any march in one traffic lane, in order not to obstruct movement of vehicles, which was announced at 19:30 to those gathered by the head of the police force.

At approximately 20.10, as indicated in the announcement, the gathered, having covered their facial features, attacked the police forces with paints, stones, squares, bottles and other objects, in order to break them and occupy the entire roadway, thus disrupting the socio-economic life of the center of Athens.

The police forces repelled the attackers with limited use of the necessary means, so that there would be no further escalation and the gathered dispersed through Asklipiou Street in the wider area of ​​Exarchia, where they broke up into smaller groups.

Afterwards, groups of people, around the perimeter of Exarchia square, set fire to waste bins which they used as barricades and launched successive attacks on the police forces with molotov cocktails, stones, bottles and other objects, at the same time causing damage to a vehicle parked on the spot, while they were confiscated wooden pole, gas mask and motorcycle helmet.

A little later, at approximately 11:30 p.m., groups of people again attacked the police forces by throwing more than 100 Molotov cocktails, as well as stones, bottles and other objects, with the result that arson caused the complete destruction of a parked vehicle, while an improvised incendiary explosive device was found and confiscated at the scene.

According to ELAS, 16 people were arrested, against whom a case file was filed for – as the case may be – the offenses of resistance, insubordination, disturbance of public peace, attempted bodily harm, insult, damage to foreign property and violation of weapons legislation.

The case was handled pre-investigatively by the Attica Security Directorate, while those arrested were taken to the competent prosecutor’s office.

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