Three identified over assault on union chief
Three men, aged 32, 33 and 37, are to be charged in connection with a brutal attack earlier this month on Yiannis Panagopoulos, the head of Greece’s largest private sector union GSEE, it was revealed yesterday. Panagopoulos was beaten and his clothes torn as he prepared to address a crowd of striking workers in central Athens on March 5. There were accusations that members of unions affiliated to the Communist Party (KKE) and the Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) had been involved in the attack but both parties denied this. The police suspect that at least two of the men have anarchist links. The 32-year-old has been arrested on suspicion of arson in the past while the 33-year-old was arrested after violence at a soccer match. The 37-year-old had no criminal record but was arrested for fighting with police shortly after the attack on Panagopoulos. None of the suspects was named.
