ATHENS, December 7 (RIA Novosti) - At least 20 people were injured during riots in the Greek capital, Athens, when thousands of protesters went on the streets on Sunday to mark the first anniversary of the killing of a Greek teenager by police.
Greek police said 16 police officers and four civilians were among the injured, including the dean of Athens University, Christos Kittas, who was hospitalized with head injuries after protesters broke into the university offices to occupy them.
On Sunday, masked rioters smashed windows at shops and banks and threw rocks and firecrackers at police officers while police used tear gas to disperse the raging throngs.
At least 300 protesters were detained in the capital and the northern city of Thessaloniki over the weekend, police said.
Some 300 rioters have barricaded themselves in the buildings of Athens University, pulling down a Greek flag and replacing it with a black-and-red anarchist banner.
Police have surrounded the university but cannot storm the premises because the Greek legislation prohibits police officers from entering educational facilities.
Last winter, Greece's worst riots in decades swept through more than 10 cities following the killing of 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos on December 6, leaving a trail of destruction as youths looted shops and set fire to hundreds of cars, banks and businesses.
Two police officers have been detained over the killing. They are currently in prison, though a trial is postponed for January for security reasons. One of the officers, Epaminondas Korkoneas, is accused of murder and illegal use of his weapon. The second officer, Vassilios Saraliotis, is accused of abetting his partner.
Socialist opposition party PASOK, which took power in Greece in October, has called on the citizens to protest peacefully. However, police authorities have vowed zero-tolerance approach to violence during protest rallies.
