Anarchists from Rouvikonas (Greek for Rubicon) group have raided the offices of Athens Voice newspaper in Athens in protest at a ‘funny comment’ the paper made in relation to the death of Gayane Kassardjian.
Gayane Kassardjian, a 50 year old Armenian woman and hospital caregiver, died last Saturday after she jumped out of the window of Nikaia General Hospital in Piraeus out of fear of an inspection of her immigration status and work permit. Following her death, Athens Voice made a ‘funny comment’ on this tragic incident in the paper’s online edition.
Yesterday, around 15 members of Rouvikonas raided the paper’s offices and used crowbars to smash the equipment and furniture, before splashing black paint all over the place. In a statement at Athens Indymedia website, the group said that the attack took place in protest against the paper’s coverage of Gayane’s death and accusing “the greedy monsters of journalism” of trying to “deny any dignity from her death”.
“In a world where perceptions are created by the dirty hands of the bourgeois, bosses and directors, there is no room for journalistic ethics. With these insidious and often inhuman propaganda, we are bombarded with the nationalism of capitalist development and its cultural trash.”- the group’s statement adds.
The action was condemned by the ruling party SYRIZA and described as an “attack on democracy” by the right-wing party New Democracy .
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Image: screenshot from a video of the action