Sunday

1st Oct 2023

Amnesty condemns Greek crackdown on anti-austerity protests

  • An injured man in Syntagma Square (Photo: Thanassis Stavrakis)

Amnesty International has condemned the use of "excessive force" by Greek security forces in suppressing protests against EU-IMF-imposed austerity.

In a statement issued Wednesday (29 June) night, the human rights group described how their supporters had catalogued a series of abuses against the largely peaceful demonstrators in Athens' central Syntagma Square in front of the national parliament.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

"Video footage and witness testimony points to the repeated use of excessive force by police in recent demonstrations, including the disproportionate and indiscriminate use of tear gas and other chemicals against largely peaceful protesters," the group said in a statement.



"Amnesty International representatives present in Syntagma square have witnessed incidents of peaceful protesters being beaten by police officers."


Throughout the day, riot police numbering some 5,000 fired multiple volleys of tear gas and stun grenades into crowds, including into the metro station where a makeshift medical shelter had been set up.

Hundreds have been hospitalised with respiratory troubles, burns and bruises from the attacks, according to local reports.

"Many protesters have reportedly been hospitalised with breathing problems caused by inhaling the tear gas and a number of protesters and riot police officers have been injured," the Amnesty statement continued.

An unnamed supporter of the group described how the police targetted peaceful demonstrators: "The people have nothing to do, nothing violent. But this is indiscriminate. Listen, I was in front of the medical centre where the police shoot tear gas."

"This is what we do not understand - why the police are attacking the square inside because nothing violent is happening inside the square," the female rights monitor said. "Some protesters are violent, but it is in the streets around the square."

The group's deputy director for Europe and central Asia, John Dalhuisen, said authorities should not engage in such violence again as protests continue.

"The largely peaceful demonstrations of the past two days have been marred again by a minority of rioters clashing with the police," he said.

"Police have a duty to stop the violence and arrest those responsible, but they must ensure the use of force is proportionate and directed only at violent demonstrators," he continued.

"They must not curtail the legitimate right of the vast majority of peaceful demonstrators to gather and protest in Syntagma square."


Responding to the Amnesty condemnation, European Commission spokeswoman Pia Hansen on Thursday rejected suggestions that the EU-IMF-ECB troika imposing austerity in Greece bears any responsibility for the disorder.

"It is for the Greek authorities to deal with public order. This is not something we have a role on. I have no lessons to give Greece at this point," she told reporters in Brussels. "We expect what we would expect from any [EU] member state regarding the rights of people to express their views peacefully."

"Any manifestation of violence is of course regrettable and unacceptable," she added.

An EU diplomat however was more frank, suggesting that behind closed doors, leaders are indeed worried that Greece is becoming unstable.

"We are not very far from a very bad turn in Greek social developments. It is a very grave concern," said the source.

IEA says: Go green now, save €11 trillion later

The International Energy Agency finds that the clean energy investment needed to stay below 1.5 degrees Celsius warming saves $12 trillion [€11.3 trillion] in fuel expenditure — and creates double the amount of jobs lost in fossil fuel-related industries.

Opinion

How do you make embarrassing EU documents 'disappear'?

The EU Commission's new magic formula for avoiding scrutiny is simple. You declare the documents in question to be "short-lived correspondence for a preliminary exchange of views" and thus exempt them from being logged in the official inventory.

Latest News

  1. EU women promised new dawn under anti-violence pact
  2. Three steps EU can take to halt Azerbaijan's mafia-style bullying
  3. Punish Belarus too for aiding Putin's Ukraine war
  4. Added-value for Russia diamond ban, as G7 and EU prepare sanctions
  5. EU states to agree on asylum crisis bill, say EU officials
  6. Poland's culture of fear after three years of abortion 'ban'
  7. Time for a reset: EU regional funding needs overhauling
  8. Germany tightens police checks on Czech and Polish border

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  2. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators, industry & healthcare experts at the 24th IMDRF session, September 25-26, Berlin. Register by 20 Sept to join in person or online.
  3. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  4. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA
  5. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators & industry experts at the 24th IMDRF session- Berlin September 25-26. Register early for discounted hotel rates
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersGlobal interest in the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations – here are the speakers for the launch

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of Ministers20 June: Launch of the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations
  2. International Sustainable Finance CentreJoin CEE Sustainable Finance Summit, 15 – 19 May 2023, high-level event for finance & business
  3. ICLEISeven actionable measures to make food procurement in Europe more sustainable
  4. World BankWorld Bank Report Highlights Role of Human Development for a Successful Green Transition in Europe
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic summit to step up the fight against food loss and waste
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersThink-tank: Strengthen co-operation around tech giants’ influence in the Nordics

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us