Terror suspects remanded in custody

Two men charged as alleged members of the terror group Revolutionary Self Defence were on Tuesday led to jail after testifying before an examining magistrate.

The suspects, aged 41 and 45, were arrested last Saturday during a sweeping counter-terrorism operation in Athens.

According to sources, both men denied charges that they were involved in five attacks against PASOK party’s headquarters in Athens and three attacks targeting the embassies of Mexico and France.

Apart from the charge of participating in a terror group, they also face charges for two counts of attempted murder of a police officer and causing explosions.

The 41-year-old suspect argued that the only evidence linking him to the group is an anonymous call to counter-terrorism authorities.

Kostas Papadakis, the lawyer of the second defendant, questioned the evidence cited in the case file and argued that “the counter-terrorism unit needs a success because it is the one that simply observed the neo-Nazi activities of Golden Dawn for years, until the murder of Pavlos Fyssas.”

Meanwhile, officers clashed with about 50 friends and supporters of the two men who protested outside the Evelpidon court complex.

As officers escorted the two suspects outside, the gathered group hurled water bottles and coffee cups against them. Police responded with tear gas.

During the raids in 13 houses on Saturday, officers seized five AK-47 assault rifles, a submachine gun, two pistols, detonators, dynamite, TNT and grenades.