Al Jazeera News :
The mayor of Greece’s second-largest city was admitted to hospital with injuries after he was set upon by a group of ultra-nationalist demonstrators.
The attack took place in the northern coastal city of Thessaloniki on Saturday during a commemoration marking the killing of Greeks in the Ottoman Empire during the tail end of the World War I.
Known to many Greeks as the “Pontic Genocide”, the killings are marked by annual events organised by Pontic Greek associations. Groups and
representatives from across the political spectrum attend each year. The 75-year-old mayor, Yiannis Boutaris, reportedly sustained injuries to his head, back and legs after being attacked with bottles and kicked in the head and body.
It comes on the heels of a surge in far-right violence in Greece. Kostas Tsakalidis, a Thessaloniki-based photographer, witnessed the attack while covering the flag-lowering ceremony during Saturday’s commemoration.
“A group of people started to shout at him for his opinion on the Macedonian dispute, the LBGTQI community, Turkey, and [nationalist] football clubs,” he told Al Jazeera, adding that he had seen many of the assailants at “extreme right protests” in recent months. “Some people were shouting about Jews because he has had close relationship with the Jewish community over the years.”
Tsakalidis explained that Boutaris fell to the ground after being hit, while attackers threw bottles “and other objects” at him. One assailant proceeded to kick the mayor as he lay on the pavement.
Although a group of police officers were located nearby, Tsakalidis said “none of them intervened” to stop the attack.
At the time of publication, Greek police had not replied to Al Jazeera’s request for a comment.
The mayor of Greece’s second-largest city was admitted to hospital with injuries after he was set upon by a group of ultra-nationalist demonstrators.
The attack took place in the northern coastal city of Thessaloniki on Saturday during a commemoration marking the killing of Greeks in the Ottoman Empire during the tail end of the World War I.
Known to many Greeks as the “Pontic Genocide”, the killings are marked by annual events organised by Pontic Greek associations. Groups and
representatives from across the political spectrum attend each year. The 75-year-old mayor, Yiannis Boutaris, reportedly sustained injuries to his head, back and legs after being attacked with bottles and kicked in the head and body.
It comes on the heels of a surge in far-right violence in Greece. Kostas Tsakalidis, a Thessaloniki-based photographer, witnessed the attack while covering the flag-lowering ceremony during Saturday’s commemoration.
“A group of people started to shout at him for his opinion on the Macedonian dispute, the LBGTQI community, Turkey, and [nationalist] football clubs,” he told Al Jazeera, adding that he had seen many of the assailants at “extreme right protests” in recent months. “Some people were shouting about Jews because he has had close relationship with the Jewish community over the years.”
Tsakalidis explained that Boutaris fell to the ground after being hit, while attackers threw bottles “and other objects” at him. One assailant proceeded to kick the mayor as he lay on the pavement.
Although a group of police officers were located nearby, Tsakalidis said “none of them intervened” to stop the attack.
At the time of publication, Greek police had not replied to Al Jazeera’s request for a comment.
