Cleanup of riot fallout begins
As the cleanup began Friday of the debris left behind from rioting and looting that broke out during Thursday?s anti-austerity rally, 12 people arrested during the disturbances faced a prosecutor on a string of charges ranging from manufacturing explosives to causing bodily harm. Nine of the 12 defendants face criminal charges.
Rioters caused extensive damage to the area around Syntagma Square in front of Parliament during the clashes, hacking chunks of marble from the facades of luxury hotels and hurling them at police along with firebombs. A subsequent stint of looting by hooded youths left several stores seriously vandalized.
Bus stops and traffic lights were damaged, roadside railings were uprooted and garbage dumpsters charred in arson attacks. The ticket-issuing machines at the Monastiraki metro and electric railway (ISAP) stations were also destroyed.
Employees of the Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) were dispatched to assess the cost of the damage caused to stores but they had issued no estimate by late on Friday.
In a related development, a coroner confirmed that a 53-year-old man who died on the fringes of Thursday?s anti-austerity rally had suffered a heart attack. It would take further tests however to determine whether the cardiac episode was caused by ?natural or toxic factors,? the coroner said, clearly referring to the abundant quantities of tear gas sprayed into the crowds by riot police.
The Athens Medical Association made a fresh appeal to authorities to ban the use of chemicals by police during demonstrations.
