Anarchists blitz road cameras
Yet another of the capital’s costly CCTV cameras which had been used in the huge security operation during last year’s Olympics was destroyed yesterday morning after a group of anarchists set fire to it – just one day after six more were destroyed in the same way. Five hooded youths broke open the camera in Nea Smyrni and set it on fire at 3 a.m. yesterday police said. Early on Saturday morning, an unknown number of youths destroyed six CCTV cameras in various parts of Athens in what officers said was a coordinated attack. In total, 293 CCTV cameras were installed during the Olympics as part of the 1-billion-euro security system. Many were used after the Games as well, but last November the country’s privacy watchdog, the Hellenic Data Protection Authority, placed severe restrictions on their use and ruled that they could only be used for monitoring traffic. Some 15 youths on motorcycles also smashed the windows of Emporiki and Egnatia banks on Athinas Street in central Athens and threw Molotov cocktails inside, causing substantial damage.
