Asylum at campuses could end
Prosecutor Vassilis Floridis has asked police to ready a plan that would enable law enforcement authorities to storm university grounds and end the rule that forbids police officers from entering campuses. Law enforcement agents are currently not allowed to enter universities even if they have evidence of criminal acts taking place. However, legal steps are apparently being taken to end this form of asylum. In a note sent to Antonios Bamiatzis, the head of the Thessaloniki police force, Floridis said that «an operational plan should be readied for police to enter universities and arrest suspects.» The government distanced itself from the news, saying that it is a matter for the judiciary. «The issue is not political, it relates to the judiciary,» said government spokesman Theodoros Roussopoulos. The move was welcomed by academics, who said the change would translate into a proper implementation of the law. Ioannis Manoledakis, a law professor, said that it is likely that police had not entered universities in the past for political reasons.
