Seven arrested for attacks on Jewish targets
The Anti-Terrorism Service announced the arrests of seven suspects in connection with arson attacks on targets of Israeli interest in Athens.
The alleged perpetrators are accused of having carried out two arson attacks on June 15 and 8. The first was at an Israeli-owned hotel on Mykonos and Aisopou streets in Psirri, downtown Athens, and the second at the Jewish synagogue a few meters away.
In the first incident, the windows of a restaurant on the hotel’s ground level were broken, and clothing soaked in a flammable liquid was tossed inside, causing a fire. In the second case, they poured petrol into the entrance, starting another fire. In both incidents, the fire was quickly extinguished before it caused significant damage.
The hotel case involved two men and a woman who dropped a mobile phone as they fled the scene which helped authorities track them down. In addition, counterterrorism officers found video footage showing the alleged perpetrators.
The attack on the Jewish synagogue, which has also been targeted in the past, involved a Greek, an Iranian and an Afghan. They were identified from video footage, a stolen motorcycle found 100 meters away from the site of the attack, and an air pistol that was dropped by the perpetrators during their escape.
Also involved in the case is an Afghan inmate serving a multi-year sentence for the murder of an Albanian national. He was arrested a year ago in Germany on a European arrest warrant issued by the Greek authorities and extradited.
One of the arrested persons said that the Afghan prisoner promised them a reward of 3,000 euros to carry out the arson attacks.
