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Students Take to the Streets for the murder of 15 year old Alexandros Grigoropoulos |
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08/12/08-12:54
Staging street protests, taking over schools and abstaining from lessons, secondary and high school students throughout Greece are protesting against the killing of their 15-year-old fellow student Alexandros Grigoropoulos, who was shot dead by a policeman in Exarhia district, Athens, last Saturday night. Traffic police has stepped up tight measures, banning traffic in several roads in central Athens. By the decision of the Education Minister, there will be no school lessons on Tuesday. The coronary's report is expected to determine the conditions under which the schoolboy was shot dead.
The Education Minister offered his most profound condolences to the boy's family and his sorrow over his loss under circumstances which, as he stressed, delivered a blow to Democracy. Tram and electrical railway services have been seriously disrupted. Things have calmed down in central Athens, although both the Polytechnic School and Athens University of Economics are still under occupation. Clashes between anarchists and police continue in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, with the former, who remain in the campus of the Aristotle University, hurling rocks at the policemen. New street protests have been scheduled for Monday afternoon, while the Hellenic Federation of University Teachers' Associations (POSDEP) called a three-day strike, condemning the killing of the teen.
In the meantime, the two policemen charged with the killing of the teen will testify on Wednesday. The policeman who shot the teen dead has been charged with premeditated homicide, while his partner was charged as an accomplice.
"The anger over this tragic incident is perfectly understood, however, blatant violence against social peace and at the expense of innocent people is unacceptable," said Sunday evening Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos after meeting with the Prime Minister and Deputy Interior Minister Panagiotis Chinofotis.
Political leaders unanimously expressed their heartfelt condolences over the death of the 15-year-old teen, speaking of exemplary punishment. The President of the Hellenic Republic said the incident delivered a blow to the rule of law, while the Prime Minister rest everybody assured that those responsible for the killing should expect no leniency.
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