Over 100 people have been arrested in Athens on Sunday after attempting to hold a demonstration for the anniversary of the killing of 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos by a police officer in 2008, despite the state’s ban on gatherings.
The majority of arrests in Athens were made in the neighborhood of Exarcheia, where 60 people were brought in by the police for violating the ban.
On Saturday, a ban on gatherings of over three people starting in the early morning hours of Sunday was announced.
Anarchists clashed with police officers over the ban in Athens on Saturday, leaving four officers injured. The state cited concerns over transmission of Covid-19 as the reason for the ban.
Protesters have been arrested across the country. By Sunday afternoon, a group of demonstrators holding banners had gathered in the square in Chania, Crete hoping to start an impromptu protest.
The police dispersed the crowd, arresting nine people.
Every year, demonstrators gather to commemorate the memory of Alexandros Grigoropoulos.
Grigoropoulos was killed by a Special Guard of the Greek Police Force on December 6, 2008, after a verbal altercation that witnesses say was instigated by the officer and his partner.
The two officers were both charged and found guilty in relation to the murder, one with the murder itself and the other as an accomplice. At the time, the heinous killing was marked by riots and protests around the country.
In November, Citizen Protection Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis announced a similar ban on protests on November 17, hoping to stop demonstrations for the anniversary of the Polytechnic Uprising during the pandemic.
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