A black banner replaced the Greek flag above the old Athens University building on central Panepistimiou St yesterday, where some 50 anarchists staged a sit-in in support of the Thessaloniki Seven. University officials met late into the night on how to tackle the situation. Under asylum laws, police cannot enter university buildings unless officially invited to.

Dozens of masked youths who took over the head offices of Athens University on Thursday remained in the imposing neoclassical building yesterday in a protest intended to highlight the plight of seven suspected rioters detained since the June 21 anti-EU disturbances in Thessaloniki.

Five of the suspects have been on hunger strike for up to two months, and doctors yesterday said four of the men are now in critical condition.

Anarchists who invaded the 19th century university building after a protest march on Thursday accuse the government of showing indifference over the detainees’ lives. In recent months, anarchists have staged a series of invasions to show support for the “Thessaloniki Seven,” and have mounted firebomb attacks on banks and public buildings.

Meanwhile, an anarchist group claimed responsibility for the firebomb attack that severely damaged a National Bank branch in the Athens district of Votanikos at around 5 a.m. yesterday. A small explosive device was also set off outside an Emporiki Bank branch in the northern town of Ioannina.