Parliament speaker skirts protester arrest question by citing protocol
Parliament Speaker Nikos Voutsis on Monday accused the Greek Police of failing to follow procedure after remanding about a dozen members of the Rouvikonas anarchist group who bypassed Parliament security last week and entered the courtyard of the building in Athens.
Voutsis wrote a three-page response to opposition leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis after the conservative chief demanded explanations as to why none of the protesters had been arrested. He appeared to skirt the issue, however, saying that officers escorting the suspects to Attica General Police Headquarters (GADA) for processing had failed to consult with him first as he has complete jurisdiction over Parliament security. Voutsis has asked that none of the protesters be arrested.
New Democracy said that Voutsis’s missive failed to address Mitsotakis’s question and “facilitates similar actions that break the law and provoke society.”
