‘Tension’ over Iranian protest
Athens Municipal Police Chief Stelios Krassas denied yesterday that one of his officers had assaulted one of more than 40 Iranian refugees who have been protesting in front of the entrance to Athens University over the past few days. Anti-racism groups claimed a municipal policeman punched one of the protesters, some of whom have sewn their mouths shut. Krassas told Kathimerini the officers only clamp down on illegal street traders and have not interfered with the protests. «It is a fact that there has been some tension in the area but there was no incident involving a municipal policeman attacking an Iranian,» he said. The denial came as Foreign Ministry spokesman Grigoris Delavekouras revealed that someone phoned the Greek Consulate in Los Angeles earlier this month to threaten attacks on Greek diplomatic buildings if political asylum was not granted to certain Iranians in Greece. Delavekouras said Greek diplomats have been notified.
