Athens News Agency: News in English, 07-03-31

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Greece suspends all team matches until April 13 after fan's death

[02] Bakoyannis: 'ray of hope' for Middle East from Bremen

[03] Train derailed near Corinth; woman injured

[01] Greece suspends all team matches until April 13 after fan's death

As 15 fans arrested during and after the incident went up before a public prosecutor, meanwhile, government spokesman Theodoros Roussopoulos stressed that current laws did not allow suspended sentences or fines for those convicted of sports-related violence and that they would go straight to jail.

The spokesman also announced the formation of a special committee, which would include the three ministers, to monitor that laws were strictly carried out and said that Orfanos would call a meeting with all professional sports clubs and bodies during Easter week to discuss action against hooliganism.

Roussopoulos underlined that authorities would take pains to track down hooligans and hold specific individuals responsible for violence, ensuring that all stadiums had cameras installed and that tickets were issued electronically by name, so that those attending games could be identified.

The clash involving some 500 hooligans occurred on Thursday evening ahead of a women's first-division volleyball match between Greece's two largest clubs, arch-rivals Panathinaikos and Olympiakos. According to police reports, there is strong evidence that it was arranged in advance and that the match itself was just a pretext. The two groups engaged in a 20-minute battle in the eastern suburb of Paiania, during which a young man in his early 20s was killed and several others, including passers-by not directly involved in the fighting, were seriously injured. Police intervened, detaining 18 people and arresting 13, who were charged with inflicting grievous bodily harm.

According to the coroner's report, the slain Panathinaikos supporter was killed by severe blows to the head with a blunt instrument, such as a club, but also suffered multiple stab wounds from two knives and had been kicked while lying on the ground. The victim had not, however, been run down by a car as suspected earlier.

While investigating the incident, police raided the offices of 11 Panathinaikos and Olympiakos fan associations around Athens, recovering items such as clubs, crowbars, chains, flares and a quantity of hashish.

Among those arrested and sent before a public prosecutor was the driver of the car seen ploughing through a crowd of battling fans, who was originally suspected of running over the slain youth. Police said the car had actually run down an Olympiakos supporter who is now being treated in KAT hospital.

According to the driver, he was trapped in his car in a line that had formed because of the battle on Lavrio Avenue and was attacked by Olympiakos supporters who realised that he and the three passengers in his cars were Panathinaikos supporters headed for the women's volleyball match at the Paiania Sports Centre.

When they began to damage his car, the driver swung into the opposite lane in an attempt to escape them and accelerated, so that he ran over one of the young Olympiakos supporters.

One more man - the head of a fan association in Peristeri - was also placed under arrest and led before a public prosecutor on Saturday after he turned himself in. Police had been looking for him after finding a number of suspect items at the fan association's offices during Friday's raids.

Following a meeting at police headquarters on Friday, investigating officers said they had no firm evidence that the arrival of Panathinaikos supporters on the scene had been organised in advance but it was clear that Olympiakos supporters had orchestrated their arrival in large numbers.

They were seen leaving Karaiskaki stadium, the Olympiakos home ground, on 150 motorbikes headed for Paiania, while another 50 motorbikes joined the group at the Kallimarmaron (Panathenian) stadium in central Athens.

Public prosecutor slaps heavy charges on Paiania hooligans

Public prosecutors slapped heavy charges on those arrested for the violence on Lavrio Avenue in Paiania on Thursday, during a clash between rival club supporters in which one man was killed and several were injured.

Police arrested 13 people on the scene, including an underage boy, while another three people were placed under arrest late on Thursday night after raids on football fan associations in Agios Dimitrios, Peristeri and Kallithea.

A total of 15 suspects were led before public prosecutors on Friday over the affair - since one of those arrested was in hospital being treated for injuries - and were slapped with criminal charges that included participation in a criminal organisation, intentional homicide, multiple counts of attempted homicide in concert with others, multiple counts of robbery with others, breaking the laws on explosives, causing explosives and possession of narcotics.

Misdemeanour charges against them included causing grievous bodily harm, vandalism, causing bodily harm through negligence, illegally carrying weapons, weapons use and weapons possession and breaking laws on fireworks and flares.

The case has now been passed on to the 26th examining magistrate.

[02] Bakoyannis: 'ray of hope' for Middle East from Bremen

"Greece has always supported that the solution of the Middle East problem is the foundation of a Palestinian state, that will coexist in security beside Israel," she said.

She was speaking after an informal meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Bremen, Germany that decided to back an Arab peace initiative and agreed to engage with ministers of the new Palestinian national unity government who are not members of the Islamist Hamas movement.

They voiced full support for the Arab plan revived at a summit in Riyadh this week offering Israel peace and relations in exchange for a complete withdrawal from Arab land occupied in the 1967 Middle East war and a solution to the Palestinian refugee problem.

The German EU presidency has worked hard to revive an EU role in the region, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel embaring on her third tour of Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories and Lebanon on Saturday.

Regarding Lebanon, however, Bakoyannis expressed concern over developments there:

"It is very important for everyone that the government of Fouad Siniora survive and to avoid any kind of action that might cast doubt on the UN Security Council's decision," she stressed.

Asked about Iran's nuclear programme and the recent capture by Iranian authorities of 15 British service personnel, Bakoyannis spoke of a "very difficult situation" but stressed that Greece wanted dialogue with Iran to remain open.

"I would like to hope that Iran will realise that this sort of policy does not help the general effort, which is an effort for peace and dialogue," she added.

[03] Train derailed near Corinth; woman injured

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