page_title: 2008 Greek riots
section_title: Aftermath
hierarchical_section_title: 2008 Greek riots / The riots and political crisis / Aftermath
caption_attribution_description: English: Bookstore in Athens after riots of December 2008
context_page_description: The 2008 Greek riots started on 6 December 2008, when Alexandros Grigoropoulos, a 15-year-old Greek student, was killed by a special officer in Exarcheia district of central Athens. The killing of a young student by police resulted in large protests and demonstrations, which escalated to widespread rioting, with numerous rioters damaging property and engaging riot police with Molotov cocktails, stones and other objects. Demonstrations and rioting soon spread to several other cities, including Thessaloniki, the country's second-largest city.
  Outside Greece, solidarity demonstrations, riots and, in some cases, clashes with local police also took place in more than 70 cities around the world, in Europe including Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Bordeaux, Brussels, Cologne, Copenhagen, Dublin, Frankfurt, the Hague, London, Madrid, Nicosia, Paphos, Paris, Rome and Seville and globally from São Paulo, San Francisco and Wellington to Buenos Aires and Siberia. Newspaper Kathimerini called the rioting "the worst Greece has seen since the restoration of democracy in 1974".
context_section_description: By Wednesday 31 December 2008 the occupation of Greek universities in Athens and Thessaloniki had ended and the administrative officials had begun assessing the cost of damage done during the occupation.
  On Thursday, 1 January 2009 arsonists attacked 10 banks and two car dealerships around Athens and Piraeus amidst the New Year celebrations. No injuries or arrests were reported by the police. The attacks caused minor damage. At least five arson attacks were also reported by police in Thessaloniki; earlier that day police also briefly clashed with protesters, and fired tear gas at rock throwing demonstrators.
  In the early morning of Monday, 5 January 2009 at least two masked gunmen fired over 20 rounds at a riot police unit guarding the Greek Ministry of Culture in central Athens, hitting a 21-year-old officer in the chest and groin. The officer had apparently spotted the gunmen and warned his colleagues shortly before he was hit. An automatic Kalashnikov rifle and an MP5 submachine gun were used in the attack, also a fragmentation grenade was used as a diversion as the perpetrators escaped. The wounded policeman, identified as Diamandis Matzounis, was in a critical, but stable, condition in hospital after six hours of surgery. Authorities said they had cordoned off the region around the site of the attack to collect evidence for forensic examination. At least 72 people were detained during the initial search for suspects. Police said ballistics tests showed the MP5 matched one used in a 30 April 2007, attack on a police station in Athens suburb Nea Ionia. That attack caused no injuries but was claimed by the far-left Revolutionary Struggle group. Police also said ballistics tests showed that a second weapon used on Monday, a Kalashnikov rifle, was used in the more recent attack on police, on 23 December 2008. On Wednesday 14 January 2009 Revolutionary Struggle sent a statement to the weekly satirical newspaper, To Pontiki. The statement said the group carried out 23 December shooting attack and the separate 5 January shooting at the police officers. By Monday, 19 January 2009 Diamantis Matzounis The 21-year-old police officer seriously injured in the attack of 5 January 2009 was removed from intensive care following an improvement in his condition. Doctors said Diamantis Mantzounis had to undergo two operations to staunch a stomach hemorrhage caused by a bullet wound, but he has managed to recuperate.
  On Friday, 9 January 2009 a long-planned education protest march took place in Athens. The rally was organized to coincide with the anniversary of the 1991 murder of high school teacher Nikos Temponeras by the secretary of the Patras youth organization of the, back then, ruling New Democracy (Greece) party, participants said they protest against police repression, corrupt politicians, the education reform and a social system that offers little hope, it was one of two held in the capital but it was the only one that turned violent. The trouble began after the rally by several thousand schoolchildren, teachers and students had almost reached its end, near the entrance to University of Athens where it had started. When hooded youths broke away from the student march and threw stones and flares at riot police, who fired tear gas and flash grenades. The youths then turned on police, hurling rocks and flares. At one point a group of protesters tried to force their way into the rector's office and to occupy the central offices of the University of Athens. The occupation of the University's offices was obstructed by groups of students and academics. According to rector Christos Kittas, police officers did not ask for university immunity to be lifted so that they could gain access to the faculty. Clashes continued in the area which was closed to traffic and where hundreds of demonstrators remained for an hour. There were repeated police charges and several arrests were made. Some 60 persons were arrested with several demonstrators severely injured in clashes with police. Between those arrested were fourteen lawyers, who said that th
caption: Bookstore in Athens after riots
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