Composer Mikis Theodorakis yesterday expressed his support for the police, who have become the prime target of domestic terrorists since the December riots, as officers staged a rally in central Athens, marking 40 days since the death of a witness protection officer.

“I am very pleased that the overwhelming majority of the police force has undergone a radical transformation from persecutor to guardian of the rights that people have won through struggle,” the 83-year-old veteran leftist wrote in an open letter. Theodorakis expressed his “total opposition to the demonization of police last December” when riots broke out in protest at an officer’s fatal shooting of a teenager. The composer added that his support for the police depended on officers “distancing yourselves from people and activities that blacken your name.” Officers had gathered in Syntagma Square in memory of Nektarios Savvas, a 41-year-old policeman shot dead last month outside the Athens home of a witness to a trial of terrorist suspects.