ARTICLE FROM GREEK NATIONAL DAILY ELEFTHEROTYPIA

26th June 2003.

POLICE CHARGE BRITISH MAN WITH MOLOTOVS

They were taken to prison, yesterday, after their statement to the investigator, 7 accused of the vandalism that took place on Saturday in the centre of Thessaloniki during the summit of Chalkidiki.
The 3 Greeks and 4 foreigners (2 Spanish, 1 Syrian and 1 British) were detained as the district attorney and the investigators agreed, because they were considered liable to escape or to commit another offence, according to article 282 of the Penal Code. Their case stood out from the that of the other 20 arrested since the beginning. They were also accused of felony but were later set free under restriction orders. The detained seven, according to the legal brief, were in possession of Molotov cocktail bombs when the police arrested them.
Although, the attorney showed the Authorities photographs and video footage from ET3 that show the 30 year old Briton Simon Chapman carrying a blue bag when he was arrested and not the black one full of Molotov cocktails which is claimed to be his.
In the video one can see the policemen collecting the black bag with seven Molotov cocktails, putting two axes in it and putting it into his hand. This incident was denounced by the Greek Social Forum, which said that the Briton was beaten during his arrest as well as some others that were arrested. At the same time, they are asking that the Syrian-born Souleiman Dagdouk Kastro not be extradited to Syria but go to the Greek court because his life is in danger. He is a unionist immigrant, member of the Construction Worker’s Union of Hania. He has been living in our country for the last 13 years and although he has been arrested in Crete before he wasn’t extradited because of the mobilization of the local community. Kastro claims that when he was arrested he was giving out leaflets concerning the immigration issue, a long distance from were the events were held.
Yesterday outside the court house of Thessalonica about 50 people went to show their solidarity with the arrested and they put up two banners written in Greek and Spanish: “ Solidarity to the arrested, against the summit”. Yesterday the Three-member Magistrate’s court of Thessalonica sentenced 26 year old Frenchman V.P. and a 24 year old Italian woman A.V to two years’ imprisonment with 3-year bail, with the accusation of holding weapon illegally. They had been arrested last Sunday night in Thessaloniki because they were found to be in possession of nuts, torches, hammers, gas masks etc.


Translated by a Greek comrade, amended slightly for grammar. nb. The article does not mention the American, Jonathan ‘Slug’ Crowell, who was arrested, released and later re-arrested, when he returned to the police station to collect his passport.