Suspects slapped with intent over violence at Prespes deal protest
Seven suspects arrested over Sunday's violence during a rally in protest at the Prespes name deal faced stiff charges on Monday after an Athens prosecutor added the element of intent to accusations of assault, endangering human lives and possession of illegal explosives.
The suspects – six men and one woman – are also being charged with aggravated vandalism, resisting arrest, illegal weapons possession and other crimes related to Sunday's riot, in which at least 25 police officers were injured.
The officers came under a hail of Molotov cocktails, rocks and other projectiles in the otherwise peaceful rally organized ahead of a vote in Parliament this week on the agreement signed between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia last June.
Several demonstrators were also injured in Sunday's events, while a photojournalist also had to be treated for cuts and cruises after being set upon by a group of assailants.
According to police sources, meanwhile, three of the seven suspects have criminal records. One, aged 27, was arrested last year for an attack with a makeshift bomb on an anarchist squat in Piraeus.
