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Greece Bans Public Demonstrations on Anniversary of Teen's Killing by Police

ATHENS (Sputnik) - The Hellenic Police has announced a ban on all public gatherings and demonstrations marking the anniversary of the 2008 police killing of teenager Alexis Grigoropoulos, as part of efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease, according to a statement published on Saturday.
Sputnik

Grigoropoulos, who was 15 years old at the time, was shot dead by a law enforcement officer who was responding to a disturbance in Athens. His death prompted numerous weeks of riots across Greece, and citizens have gathered each year on 6 December to mark the anniversary of the incident.

"Due to the urgent need to combat the serious risk to public health and as part of emergency measures to combat the spread of COVID-19, the Hellenic Police chief has banned any outside public gathering of four or more people from 05:00 to 24:00 [03:00-22:00 GMT] on December 6, 2020," the statement read.

Individuals who are found to be the organisers of demonstrations on Sunday can expect to receive a fine of between 300 and 5,000 euros ($363-$6,061). For individual participants, the fine amount has been set at 300 euros.

In 2019, roughly 80 people were detained as demonstrations to mark Grigoropoulos's death turned violent. Three police officers suffered injuries during clashes with protesters.

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