Youths hurl rocks and petrol bombs at anniversary of teen's death скачать в хорошем качестве

Youths hurl rocks and petrol bombs at anniversary of teen's death

(6 Dec 2010) : Youths hurled rocks and petrol bombs at police on Monday during clashes at a student rally marking two years since the fatal police shooting of a teenage boy that sparked Greece's worst riots in decades. At least five people were injured - including a bystander hit in the face by a flying rock - and more than 40 youths were detained by police. Sporadic violence lasting more than six hours occurred in several parts of central Athens after some 4,000 people marched to parliament to commemorate the death of 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos in 2008. Protesting youths pelted police and a Finance Ministry building with rocks, oranges and flares, and smashed glass phone booths and other property. Riot police fired tear gas and pepper spray as masked youths used smashed-up paving stones and ripped-up traffic signs to throw at police, and set fire to trash bins to use as barricades, outside parliament and the city's main Syntagma Square. Several bank and other store fronts were smashed, but the damage was not extensive. Despite the choking atmosphere from the tear gas, much of the city continued as normal. Some stores remained open but shuttered their main entrance, allowing customers to continue Christmas shopping while protesters rampaged outside. The 2008 riots were the worst civil unrest Greece had seen in decades, with youths rampaging through cities almost nightly for two weeks. The trouble also inspired a wave of violence by far-left and anarchist militant groups, reviving decades-old anti establishment violence rooted in past political upheavals. Police at the weekend arrested six suspected members of a militant group and seized explosives and weapons from suspected safe houses. Police ballistics tests have so far not matched any of the seized weapons to previous terrorist attacks. Public Order Minister Christos Papoutsis told the Athens daily Ta Neaecisive the arrests were a "blow" to those who have "chosen violence as a way of life" and want to "terrorise our society". On Monday, police closed main roads to traffic around Athens and deployed several thousand officers in the capital. About two thousand people also attended a protest rally in the country's second largest city, Thessaloniki. In October, policeman Epaminondas Korkoneas was convicted of murder for the teenager's death, and was sentenced to life imprisonment. A second officer was jailed for 10 years. The dead teenager's mother said she was planning to set up a foundation to assist victims of mistreatment by the authorities. Gina Tsalikian told state-run NET television in an interview to be aired later on Monday that police had shot her son "in cold blood". She said she wished that no other mother would go through what she had been through. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...