Two foreign nationals have been arrested after a violent student protest in Athens and are accused of hurling Molotov cocktails and other items at police officers.
Greek police arrested the 17-year-old and a 20-year-old in front of the Monument to the Unknown Soldier in central Athens earlier this week close to a student protest being held in the Greek capital, newspaper Proto Thema reports.
“It was determined that those arrested were part of a group of people who, in front of the Monument of the Unknown Soldier, attacked the police forces with Molotovs, flares, stones, marbles, and other objects.
“In addition, the 17-year-old was identified as a person who threw a Molotov cocktail. They were charged with felony and misdemeanour offences,” police said in a statement.
The arrests come just weeks after a mob of 51 far-left Antifa extremists were arrested in Thessaloniki after attacking police with bats and other weapons. The extremists attacked police following a demonstration in the city and after police had raided a notorious Antifa squat in the city and found weapons and explosives.
Antifa militants had used the “Terra Incognita” squat for years before the raid. It was used as a headquarters by extremists in the city to plan attacks on police and others.
Police also stated that the found records of financial contributions in the squat and €1,500 in cash.
In Athens, three members of the far-left anarchist extremist Popular Fighters Group (OLA) were taken into custody by police late last month. After conducting raids on four homes and a warehouse linked to the extremists, investigators found 22 pounds of explosives along with detonators and other bomb materials.
Similar Antifa squats and headquarters in other European countries such as France where explosive material and Molotov cocktails were found in a squat in Paris.