Sixteen arrests made after operation to end university sit-in

Police arrested 16 of the 33 people detained during an operation to evacuate a sit-in at a building on the campus of Thessaloniki’s Aristotle University housing the rectorate early Thursday morning. The case against 13 men and three women concerns the offenses of disorderly conduct and disobedience. The relevant case file was to be submitted to the Thessaloniki Prosecutor’s Office, while those arrested were released.

The 33 detainees included 26 men and seven women, of whom 32 are Greek nationals and one is Cypriot, according to the Hellenic Police (ELAS). Nineteen are students at the university while the remaining 14 are outsiders. Streets around the building were closed to traffic by police ahead of the evacuation.

Information of a possible police operation at the rectorate had already been circulating on Monday, while clashes were reported later that day when 100 people attempted to enter the building during a protest march, responding to a call on a website to boost the sit-in. During the skirmishes, one individual was arrested and charged with violating laws on weapons after officers found a knife and a lath hammer in his backpack. Another four people who were detained were later released.