Thousands of police deploy in Athens on anniversary of police shooting that sparked riots

Thousands of police in Athens for riot anniversary

ATHENS, Greece — Thousands of police deployed across the Greek capital Sunday to prevent violence during commemorations for the first anniversary of the police shooting of a teenager whose death sparked some of the worst riots Greece had ever seen.

Students and far-left groups have planned demonstrations through Athens and the country’s second largest city, Thessaloniki, to mark the death of 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos. Fears of violence have been heightened by reports that far-left groups and anarchists from other European countries have traveled to Greece to join the protests.

Police officials have said at least 100 foreign demonstrators are expected. Students plan a demonstration in Athens at about 1:30 p.m. (1130GMT), with another protest planned in the evening.

Grigoropoulos was killed by a policeman’s bullet on the evening of Dec. 6, 2008, in Exarchia, a central Athens neighborhood of bars and cafes considered an area frequented by anarchists. Within a few hours of his death, riots spread from the Greek capital to several cities across the country, with police apparently powerless to prevent youths from smashing, looting and burning stores in violence that continued for two weeks.

The new Socialist government, which came to power in October and has been confronted with a surge in armed attacks by far-left and anarchist groups after last year’s shooting, has vowed a zero-tolerance approach to any violence during Sunday’s commemorations.

On Saturday night, police detained about 160 youths and raided what they described as a firebomb-making hideout in the district of Keratsini, near the port of Piraeus.

A memorial gathering Saturday night at the spot where Grigoropoulos was killed in Exarchia began peacefully, although clashes broke out in the area later between rock-throwing youths and riot police. Police arrested 14 people, including five Italians and three Albanians.

Dozens of police, some in riot gear and others on motorbikes, stood guard throughout the district on Saturday night. Apart from the brief clash, the area was quite, with heavy rain helping keep people off the streets.

Greece’s Civil Protection Minister, Michalis Chrisochoidis, who is also in charge of the police, said earlier this week that while youths had been right to demonstrate against the teenager’s death, further riots would not be tolerated.

“Without doubt (Grigoropoulos’ death) was an act of extreme police violence and misconduct that has scarred our collective memory,” Chrisochoidis said. “Young people were right to take to the streets to express their outrage.”

“But we will not tolerate a repeat of the violence and terror in the center of Athens and other cities,” he said. “We will not surrender Athens to vandals.”