Anarchist group vandalizes Justice Minister’s office

Members of anarchist group Rouvikonas entered a building housing the office of Justice Minister Kostas Tsiaras and spray-painted slogans on the walls outside its entrance.

The group said on a website that the vandalism was to express solidarity with Giorgos Kalaitzidis and Nikos Matarangas, two key members who are facing serious charges in connection with the murder of a 36-year-old Egyptian man in the downtown Athens district of Exarchia in June 2016.

The victim, an alleged drug dealer known as “Habibi,” was gunned down at the intersection of Themistokleous and Eressos streets, with a group calling itself Armed Militia Groups subsequently claiming responsibility for the murder. 

Matarangas faces murder charges based on the testimony of two witnesses who claim to have recognized him even though the two men on the motorcycle from which the shots were fired were both masked.

Kalaitzidis, who claims the 36-year-old tried to stab him during a scuffle four months before the shooting, is being charged as a moral accomplice. 

The trial is set for October 13.