Greek authorities said they have two suspects in the firebombing of a Marfin Bank branch during a 2010 protest that killed three people, including a pregnant young woman, an incident that garnered world attention as it came during the first riots against austerity measures.
Officials said two men have been summoned following a 32-month police investigation which focused on photographs taken at the time of the attack and witness accounts.
The newspaper Kathimerini reported that sources said the case file given to a magistrate contains the testimony of several people describing the faces of the arsonists who broke the windows of the bank on May 5, 2010, and threw firebombs into the premises.
Of the witnesses summoned by the security police, several identified the two suspects as the arsonists when shown photographs of them. The suspects were to face the court on Jan. 31, during which it was expected they would claim that other police documents prove there’s not enough evidence to convict them.
Relatives of Angeliki Papathanassopoulou, the 32-year-old pregnant bank clerk who died in the fire with two of her colleagues, issued a statement saying they were waiting for closure.
“We are hoping for a conviction of the arsonists and of those at Marfin Bank, who through their criminal negligence forced their workers to suffer a torturous death, which will prove liberating for us and the memory of our loved ones,” the statement said.
There were earlier reports that after one Molotov Cocktail was tossed into the bank that another was hurled to prevent terrified workers from escaping, forcing them to flee to a second story balcony where the three victims died.
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
