Athens: Self-made devices explode outside homes of five journalists

 UPDATE: an organization that appears for the firt time claimed responsibility for the attacks. In a statement uploaded in athens-indimedia, the organization calling itsself “Cycles of violators/Cell of lawlessness lovers” claimed responsibility on Friday evening. Statement here but in Greek.

Self-made devices exploded outside the homes of five well-known journalists in the early morning hours of Friday in Athens. The attacks occurred in the suburbs of Kolonaki, Agia Paraskevi, Penteli, Maroussi and Alimos causing damages at the entrances of the buildings.

The attacks took place with a few minutes time difference leaving open the possibility that it was a coordinated plan. All devices were consisting of two small gas canisters.

The first incident occurred at 3:40 am in Kololonaki, the second at 4:10 am in Agia Paraskevi. A couple of mintues later, one explosion occurred in Marousi and Penteli and the last one at 4:45 in Alimos. The targets were located in a a radius of some 10-15 km.

The journalists who became target are Giorgos Oikonomeas (MEGA TV), Antonis Liaros (former MEGA TV, later PASOK candidate), Antonis Skyllakos (Athens news agency APE-MPA director), Christos Konstas and Petros Karsiotis (ALPHA TV).

ND accuses SYRIZA

Government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou condemned the attacks and accused main-opposition, left-wing SYRIZA as having links to the attackers.

“Yesterday, live interventions in radio stations. Today explosions in journalists’ homes. There are open terrorism attempts in the media sector, an essential sector of our democracy. What does SYRIZA need in order to denounce its hoodies?”

Commenting on Kedikoglou’s blaming, SYRIZA said among others in a statement:

For one more time,  such deadlocks and dangerous practices give an alibi to a government that has adopted the strategy of division, violence and intimidation of the Greek society, to continue its work of curtailing democracy itself. A striking example are the statements of the government spokesman that preach the division and the intolerance in a funny but dangerous way.”

ND-PASOK against SYRIZA

A major dispute broke in recent days with coalition government partners conservative Nea Dimocratia and socialist PASOK launching massive verbal attacks against SYRIZA. The campaign targets SYRIZA at two fronts: PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos is furious as SYRIZA submitted a motion to parliament asking inquiry against him about the Lagarde list. Nea Dimocratia blames SYRIZA for covering up the hoodies and the anarchists movements.

On Thursday, SYRIZA MP Vasilis Diamantopoulos told private radio Alpha FM, that he was determined in the anarchist area, that an anarchist was a direct democrat and that the incidents of 2008 [the riots after killing of teenager boy Alexis Grigoropoulos] were an uprising.

The pick of the dispute was reached on Wednesday, after massive police police operations against two squats in Athens where abandoned buildings were occupied by anti-authoritarians. 140 people were detained – but later set free -, while solidarity protests ended in tear gas clouds in downtown Athens. Supporter groups in entered a state radio station (ET3) in Thessaloniki and a private radio (Real fm) in Athens and read solidarity messages.

 

 

 
Improvised explosive devices, consisting of gas canisters, placed strangers during the night in the homes of known journalists.

The attacks occurred in Alimos, Aghia Paraskevi, Lycabettus, Penteli and Maroussi, with damage caused to the entrance of the flats. Impressive, however, the fact that the attacks took a few minutes difference between them both, which leaves open the possibility of going for a coordinated plan.

The first incident happened at 03.40 in the morning in an apartment building in Kolonaki. There followed an explosion in a house in St. Friday at 04.10 and five minutes later there were two explosions, one at home in Maroussi and the other in a house in N. Penteli. At 04.45 last eruption was in house journalist at Alimos, where, according to the police, “popped” one of the two gas canisters.

These are the homes of journalists Skyllakou Anthony and his wife, Evangelia Baltatzis George Economou, Antonis Liarou, Peter and Chris Constans Karsioti. So far, however, there is no accountability, while the explosion there was an injury.

In each of the points of attack were rushed to two vehicles of the fire brigade with five men, without having to intervene, as it triggered massive fire.