On Dec 6, when demos were held to commemorate Alexis Grigoropoulos, the police reportedly proceeded to 21 arrests and 46 detentions. Among those arrested, was A.D. known as Menacius in the twitter community, who is a member of “A ship to Gaza” movement and an Omnia TV contributor. This fact is of great importance as it concerns a citizen who’s been covering live on Twitter the clashes between police and protesters. Menacius' citizen journalism activity is also evident from an article in Kathimerini newspaper on that topic and from comments his friends and comrades have made. On top of that, the arrest should be seen in the context of heavy policing taking place lately, along with the “zero tolerance” approach that police exercised with preventive detentions and stop-and-search tactics during Dec 6 demos.
Further updates on the issue will be aired on radiobubble web radio, posted on Omnia TV, Parallilografos blog and Athens Indymedia and #freemenacius hashtag on Twitter will keep you in the loop. There has been also a call to the Greek branch of Amnesty International to deal with the issue.
The Facts
According to the press release from "A ship to Gaza" movement, Menacius went out to cover the incidents for Omnia TV,when he went under arrest and his equipment was confiscated by police forces. He was charged with outrageous offences of peace disturbance, breach of the Arms Act (for throwing stones), attempt to cause physical harm and affiliation with a group of youths hurling petrol bombs. After being detained in the police headquarters on Wednesday night he was held to the prosecutor along with the rest of the detainees, many of them juveniles.
After long hours of waiting a bunch of them appeared on the prosecutor who reportedly said to one of them "you 've destroyed the state". All of the detainees will remain in police headquarters until Friday, when the court hearing will take place. Most of them are charged with hurling stones and fire bombs which is considered criminal offence.
UPDATE 9/12
12:00 Most charges, initially felonies, have turned to misdemeanors.
20:00 Menacius has walked free but still charged with peace disturbance which is considered a misdemeanor offence. Among the arrested, three Germans, one Spanish and one Portuguese are on bail. The rest were released on the the condition they appear on a regular basis at the police department.
After long hours of waiting a bunch of them appeared on the prosecutor who reportedly said to one of them "you 've destroyed the state". All of the detainees will remain in police headquarters until Friday, when the court hearing will take place. Most of them are charged with hurling stones and fire bombs which is considered criminal offence.
UPDATE 9/12
12:00 Most charges, initially felonies, have turned to misdemeanors.
20:00 Menacius has walked free but still charged with peace disturbance which is considered a misdemeanor offence. Among the arrested, three Germans, one Spanish and one Portuguese are on bail. The rest were released on the the condition they appear on a regular basis at the police department.
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