Man dies after violence mars protest rally
A 53-year-old construction worker died of a heart attack on Thursday afternoon following violent clashes that broke out in central Athens during the second anti-austerity rally in as many days.
Doctors at the capital?s Evangelismos Hospital, where the man was taken, said he bore no injuries on admission but was unconscious. Attempts to revive him were unsuccessful, according to the doctors, who said he died of a heart attack. Athens first instance prosecutor Eleni Raikou ordered an investigation to determine the exact circumstances of the man?s death. Earlier media reports had indicated that the man had been hit on the head by a stone.
At least 16 people were injured in Thurday?s clashes, according to police, while media reports said that at least one demonstrator was seriously injured after falling under circumstances that remained unclear.
A demonstration that started peacefully on Thursday morning swiftly degenerated when members of the labor union affiliated with the Communist Party (KKE) clashed with self-styled anarchists in front of Parliament, where lawmakers were debating the provisions of a new austerity package.
Dozens of hooded youths hurled stones and Molotov cocktails at the PAME members, who earlier had formed a human chain in front of Parliament. Police did not intervene at the outset but eventually moved in, firing tear gas to disperse both groups.
In comments to reporters after the skirmishes, KKE leader Aleka Papariga described the attack against the PAME members as ?premeditated attempted murder? and attributed it to ?mechanisms of the parastate.? Papariga claimed that the attack against unionists had been heralded on websites linked to ?anarcho-fascists.? She alleged that the assailants were a mix — some from the ?Won?t Pay? citizens? movement, some from anarchist circles, others from the extreme-right group Chrysi Avgi (Golden Dawn) and even from the right-wing Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS), which has 16 seats in Parliament.
According to police, Thursday?s rally drew 50,000 people, though organizers put the number closer to 80,000, significantly smaller than Wednesday?s turnout.
Seven people alleged to have been involved in the rioting that marred Wednesday?s protest faced a prosecutor on Thursday. Three of the detainees are minors, according to authorities, who said the seven face a string of charges ranging from the manufacture of explosives to causing bodily harm.
