Police arrest two men for assault on pro-Russian motorcade
Police arrested two men on Friday in relation to an assault of a participant in a pro-Russian motorcade in Athens on Sunday, April 3.
The men face charges of attempted murder, insulting the symbols of another state, racially motivated crime, damaging property, disobedience and violations of the law on weapons.
According to investigators, the two men were part of a group that attacked a motorcade of pro-Russian sympathizers in the downtown Omonia district in which two cars were damaged and two people injured.
It is understood that the arrested men are Georgian nationals, aged 27 and 26, who live in Aghios Panteleimonas.
One of the alleged victims, a Greek national, received four stitches to the head.
The arrested men are expected to be led before a prosecutor.
At Sunday’s motorcade, demonstrators waved Greek and Russian flags and honked their horns as they drove by Syntagma Square which was at the time hosting a pro-Ukraine rally. Some of the vehicles were spotted emblazoned with the “Z” emblem which is seen as symbolizing support for Russia’s war in Ukraine.
On Monday, Russia’s chief investigator ordered an official examination of what he said were allegations that Russian nationals were targeted during the motorcade.
The police investigation continues.
