This afternoon, Saturday August 13th, three people handing out handbills at the popular weekly outdoor market in Kallidromou, in Athens, were surrounded by the DELTA motorcycle squad, detained and brought to the police station for questioning.
The cops claim the three looked like suspects wanted in a robbery, but of course this is nonsense. Since an army of cops took over Exarcheia Square on August 8, Exarcheia has been under a full military-style police occupation, and the three were targeted because of their handbills.
This kind of "suspicion" of another crime is a common pretext to harass and intimidate suspected anarchists. People are rounded up, brought to the police station, put in a cell, their ID taken, questioned and maybe held "until the victim of the robbery can come make an identification." The supposed victim of the supposed robbery never shows; it's just political bullying.
As a small gesture of solidarity with these three and all others who are fighting the current and extreme police occupation of Exarcheia, I have translated the flyer they were handing out into English.
I would note that point 5, "We show solidarity/open doors to protesters," includes the most literal meaning. When there is active repression, it's common for sympathetic locals to offer protesters shelter in their homes or businesses.
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