Protesters attack traffic police chief on fringe of Athens rally

A small group of anarchists who were part of a rally on Monday protesting a firebomb attack last week on a migrant squat in downtown Athens, allegedly assaulted the head of the city’s traffic police.

Several dozen protesters had gathered in front of Athens University on Monday afternoon, carrying banners and chanting slogans decrying an attack last week on an abandoned building in the district of Exarchia that was being used by anti-establishment activists to house families of migrants and refugees.

While the rally to City Hall on Kotzia Square was mostly peaceful, some protesters threw red paint at riot police and at City Hall, while shortly after the march was concluded a small group of self-styled anarchists attacked traffic police chief Giorgos Diamantopoulos, who is now being treated at an Athens hospital. The nature of his injuries was not made public.

Last Wednesday, assailants poured petrol through a broken window on the building’s ground floor and set fire to several gas canisters, causing an explosion. No one was injured, as the fire department was able to put out the blaze quickly.

Organizers of the squat believe the assault was carried out by neo-Nazis.