Student rally case dropped
Police officers face investigation for allegedly being heavy-handed during a student protest rally on March 8, a misdemeanors court in Athens ruled yesterday, after deciding that there was not enough evidence to convict 49 suspects who were arrested during the march. Charges that included disturbing the peace and causing grievous bodily harm against the suspects, mostly students from northern Greece, were dropped. The court ruled that a prosecutor should look into claims made during their trials by the students and their lawyers that police officers used unreasonable force to detain them. The students were arrested during skirmishes between demonstrators and riot police in central Athens during a rally to protest the government’s education reforms. The students denied being involved in any violence when they appeared in court a few days after their arrests. Riot police used tear gas to prevent friends and relatives from attending their hearing last month.
