The Greek government, put on the defensive by mounting allegations of police brutality, called for calm after clashes on the streets of Athens, mass protests and growing anger over the country’s prolonged blockade.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called for moderation after an initially peaceful demonstration against police aggression that turned violent on Tuesday night. Three policemen were injured in the ensuing street battles as the police tried to repel young men who were throwing stones and fire bombs with tear gas, water cannons and shock grenades.
The protest was prompted by outrage with video clips showing a policeman brutally beating a man with an iron staff for allegedly breaking blocking measures.
“I am addressing young people, who are destined to create and not to destroy,” said Mitsotakis in an impromptu speech on television after it was reported that one of the policemen had been seriously injured when he was dragged off a motorcycle and kicked several times.
“Blind anger doesn’t get you anywhere. It should serve as a warning that a young policeman’s life was in danger. At this point, everyone should show restraint and calm. “
On Wednesday, as tensions intensified, thousands of students took to the streets denouncing the center-right government’s plans to install unarmed police units on university campuses.
“The rage is growing,” said Panagotis Katis, 20, a political science student at the University of Peloponnese, as he marched to the parliament in Athens. “It is not just the campus police that goes against every notion that universities are places that guarantee freedom of expression. People are outraged that their basic rights are being attacked by the police who should be protecting us, not abusing the law, which is why so many are here today. “
Tuesday’s clashes erupted after more than 5,000 people gathered in the southern suburb of Nea Smyrni, an area best known for its aura of law-abiding respectability, to protest the increasingly violent police tactics. Some held banners with the words “Police officers outside our neighborhoods”.
The march was organized after rage accumulated in video clips showing a police officer beating a 29-year-old student in the central square of Nea Smyrni on Sunday.
The man was sitting on a bench, enjoying the fresh air, when a policeman surrounded him, apparently believing that he had violated strict curbs that restricted freedom of movement. “He pushed me and then the other policemen kicked me all over the body,” the student later said to the left-wing newspaper Efsyn, explaining that he was trying to argue with the squad that he was imposing € 300 fines on people found to be violating the law.
In a rare step, the officer was released from office on Wednesday after an internal investigation. Aristotelia Peloni, a government spokesman, admitted that the video images shared on social networks “bother everyone”.
The incident highlighted the often violent tactics of a police force that, both in manpower and in material reinforcements, was greatly reinvigorated by the Mitsotakis government. The ruling New Democracy party took office in July 2019 promising to be tough on law and order after blaming its leftist predecessor, Syriza, for allowing illegality to thrive.
But complaints of police brutality have increased particularly since the pandemic began, according to the ombudsman in charge of investigating the latest incident.
Human rights groups and the Athens Bar Association have also criticized the excessive use of force, both attributing police actions to a culture of endemic impunity that has allowed violations to continue. Among the alleged abuses are reports of people being searched in broad daylight.
Last year, the government was criticized for legislation banning protests that it claimed were dangerous to public security. The Greek branch of Amnesty International blamed him for the increase in violent incidents.
Much of Greece has been blocked since November, fueling frustration and deepening fatigue in a country that on Tuesday experienced the worst increase in its history in infection rates. “The country has a government that has completely lost control of the pandemic and the only thing it knows how to do … is to use a heavy hand,” said Syriza leader and former prime minister, Alexis Tsipras.
The pressure has grown in recent weeks, when protesters openly challenged the protest ban on demonstrations in solidarity with Dimitris Koufondinas, the extinct November 17 chief killer who has been on a hunger strike for two months. Left-wing supporters of the terrorist, convicted of the murder of 11 people, including a former military attaché at the British embassy, were among those who took to the streets of Athens on Wednesday. “We are all here, including your son over there,” said one protester, pointing to a young man wearing a red bandana mask. “Koufondinas wanted us on the streets. It’s getting explosive. There is a lot of anger in the air. “