Tasos Theofilou, who is accused of being a member of the Conspiracy of Fire Cells and participating in a bank robbery in Paros which resulted in the death of a taxi driver, has appeared before the Felony Courts in Athens to state his plea.
In his plea, Theofilou denied any relation to the Conspiracy of Fire Cells by citing essential ideological difference with the militant group. Theofilou explained that as an anarcho-communist he espouses a vision of social liberty, while the Fire Cells promote a nihilistic approach to anarchism.
Furthermore, Theofilou called the Paros incident a “set up” and refused to submit DNA evidence on political grounds, as he disagrees with the “genetic profiling”. The defendant further explained that there were no credible evidence or eye-witness reports and that his public profile and blogging would not allow him to act conspiratorial life.
Theofilou later asserted that the financial crisis and bailouts have rallied the most conservative elements of society and believes that there is an organized plan to discredit all those who refuse to submit to fear mongering, citing the events in Skouries and unemployment as examples.
The defendant also claimed that the counter-terrorism police has been tasked with “managing” the anarchist scene and that the Marfin Bank arson attack and a bomb attack in Patisia that resulted in the death of an Afghan immigrant were set up to discredit anarchists.
