Athens police make 57 arrests in riots after Tempe rallies

Police in Athens have said they detained 125 people during the protests and subsequent riots on Friday marking the second anniversary of the Tempe railway disaster.

Of those detained, 57 were subsequently arrested, 32 of them for various offenses.

The other 25 people arrested were described as members of self-styled anarchist group Rouvikonas, who were detained after managing to make their way to the rooftop of the headquarters of rail operator Hellenic Train, where they displayed banners with slogans about Tempe.

Referring to the riots in Athens, a police spokesperson earlier laid the blame for the incidents on opportunists.

“Unfortunately, some people, taking advantage of the size of the gathering, found an opportunity to essentially attack the police forces,” Konstantia Dimoglidou said.

“What the police tried to do was to move people away and guide them in three different directions, so that they would leave Syntagma Square, where we saw these people appear.

“These individuals were not in groups from the beginning, but we saw them during the rally moving among the citizens and when the speeches in the city center were completed, they grouped together, covered their faces and then coordinated attacks on the police.”

She added that police forces initially did not intervene “so that we could ensure that the people, the rest of the protesters, would leave the scene safely.”

The deployment of water cannon on Syntagma Square was “the mildest means” to clear the area of those who caused the incidents, she said.

In Thessaloniki, police said they made 30 arrests in incidents that occurred after the end of the march in the city.