Scores arrested in Exarchia on Grigoropoulos anniversary
Police said on Monday that 399 people were detained in the central Athens neighborhood of Exarchia on Sunday during commemorations for the 12th anniversary of the fatal shooting of a 15-year-old boy by a police officer.
Of these, 143 were arrested and charged with violating the ban on gatherings to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Citizens’ Protection Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis said on Monday that only six people among those detained agreed to undergo a test for the coronavirus.
“The rest arrogantly refused, as their hatred of the ‘enemy’ trumped their sense of responsibility,” he told Parliament.
He added that it was the first time riot police wore cameras.
The shooting in 2008 of Alexis Grigoropoulos sparked extensive riots in Athens and other cities over the following two weeks.
Clashes with police, on a much smaller scale, have happened at almost every anniversary of the shooting since.
