A total of 18 riot (MAT) and motorcycle (DELTA) police officers will stand trial today, for the violent suppression of a demonstration that took place in Athens on the 29th of June 2011 in relation to a controversial vote for the midterm bailout program in Parliament.
The prosecuting judges took the initiative to prosecute the police based on the severity and high volume of reports that followed. Opposition leader Alexis Tsipras has also filed a criminal complaint. Preliminary estimations suggested that hundreds of protests were injured in the clashes with police, while about 3,000 canisters of tear gas were launched. The police had arrested 38 and detained 75 protesters.
The 18 MAT and DELTA police officers are facing serious charges of endangering the life and health of protesters, abandoning injured protesters and preventing ambulances from arriving to provide medical care. Protesters of the “Independent Intervention” have called for a rally outside the courts at noon.
