ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Several thousand people marched through the Greek capital on Friday on the anniversary of a fatal police shooting of a teenager in 2008, and minor violence broke out later as youths attacked police.
No injuries or arrests were reported from clashes after the end of the march in Athens. Rioters threw fuel bombs and stones at riot police, who responded with tear gas and stun grenades in the central Exarcheia district where the 2008 shooting occurred.
Alexandros Grigoropoulos, a 15-year-old high school student, was fatally shot by a police officer, sparking days of rioting. His death remains a rallying point for annual demonstrations by left-wing and student groups that often turn violent.
Despite heavy rainfall in the Greek capital, some 5,000 police officers patrolled the city Friday, focusing on Exarcheia.
Police deployed water cannon vehicles, drones and helicopters to monitor the demonstrations and maintained a strong presence near embassies and ministries.
Road closures and traffic diversions were imposed for the march, while public transportation was disrupted and two central subway stations were closed for much of the day.
A police officer arrested for the shooting of Grigoropoulos was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2010 but was released in 2019 after his sentence was reduced. That decision was upheld at a retrial three years later. A second officer was also convicted as an accomplice and released on parole after serving three years in prison.
FILE - Riot police pass by burnt out cars outside the National Technical University School of Athens early Sunday, Dec. 7, 2008. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis, File)
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Finnish authorities have detained a Russia-linked ship as they investigate whether it damaged a Baltic Sea power cable and several data cables, according to police and news media reports, in the latest incident involving disruption of key infrastructure.
Finnish police and border guards boarded the vessel, the Eagle S, early Thursday and took over the command bridge, Helsinki Police Chief Jari Liukku said at a news conference. The vessel was being held in Finnish territorial waters, police said.
The Eagle S is flagged in the Cook Islands, but was described by Finnish customs officials as a suspected part of Russia's shadow fleet of fuel tankers, Yle television reported. Those are aging vessels with obscure ownership, acquired to evade Western sanctions amid the war in Ukraine and operating without Western-regulated insurance.
The Eagle S anchor is suspected of causing damage to the cable, Yle reported, relying on police statements.
The Estlink-2 power cable, which brings electricity from Finland to Estonia across the Baltic Sea, went down on Wednesday. The incident follows damage to two data cables and the Nord Stream gas pipelines, both of which have been termed sabotage.
Estonia's government was holding a extraordinary meeting on the issue Thursday, Prime Minister Kristen Michal said on X. Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina said she was in close touch with Michal and Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo.
“Our armed forces have strengthened surveillance and are monitoring the situation,” she said on X. “The Baltic states currently have sufficient energy production capacity, although we are challenged by the Baltic Sea cable incidents.”
Two data cables — one running between Finland and Germany and the other between Lithuania and Sweden — were severed in November. Germany’s defense minister said that officials had to assume the incident was “sabotage,” but he didn't provide evidence or say who might have been responsible. The remark came during a speech in which he discussed hybrid warfare threats from Russia.
The Nord Stream pipelines that once brought natural gas from Russia to Germany were damaged by underwater explosions in September 2022. Authorities have said the cause was sabotage and launched criminal investigations.
Estonian network operator Elering says there was enough spare capacity to meet power needs on the Estonian side, public broadcaster ERR said on its website.
Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo attends a press conference in Helsinki, Finland, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, as police investigating the electricity transmission between Finland and Estonia through the Estlink 2 connection which was cut on Christmas Day, according to Finnish grid operator Fingrid. (Jussi Nukari/Lehtikuva via AP)
Finnish National Police Comissioner Ilkka Koskim'ki attends a press conference in Helsinki, Finland, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, investigating the electricity transmission between Finland and Estonia through the Estlink 2 connection which was cut on Christmas Day, according to Finnish grid operator Fingrid. (Jussi Nukari/Lehtikuva via AP)
