Lawyer warns ‘anti-terror’ investigation being used to target wider radical movements
~ Kit Dimou ~
Anarchists in Greece and Germany have released solidarity statements with the comrades killed, injured and arrested following an explosion in an Athens flat on 31 October, which authorities attribute to a bomb-making accident.
In the ensuing media frenzy, wild speculation has arisen on the supposed target of the bombing, as mainstream media attempts to connect this incident to unsolved attacks claimed by anarchist initiatives. A defence lawyer for the arrestees has warned of the attempt to target the entire Greek radical political milieu on the back of the attack.
According to a statement posted on Athens Indymedia, Kyriakos Ximitiris, a long-term activist in the anarchist milieu, was the 36-year old man found dead in the flat, while Marianna M is the 31-year old woman rescued in critical condition. She was arrested by counter-terror units in Evangelismos hospital, after two handguns and some prosthetic masks were found among the wreckage. However, anonymous police sources told Greek media that no physical remains of an explosive device were found.
Following the explosion, a comrade tied to the flat, identified as Dimitra Z., and her partner surrendered themselves to police. Although the partner was unconnected to the events, his arrest allowed Greek police to invoke anti-terrorism legislation, under which three people constitute an organisation. Police then provocatively announced that Marianna would be interrogated while still in hospital, with multiple injuries requiring respiratory aid.
Emergency meetings and demonstrations have been held outside the hospital, while anarchists in Patras, Thessaloniki, and Athens have intervened in local medical associations calling for opposition to this affront to medical ethics.
Marianna M. remains under heavy guard in the hospital, while the other two comrades have both been put under administrative detention. Police have hinted that at least two other people, still unidentified, are involved.