Police in Nafpaktos has arrested a 13-year-old girl for selling pens on the streets. The arrest took place as the girl was walking from cafe to cafe trying to convince people to buy pens from her.
The girl was not only arrested and taken to police station of the town in Western Greece. According to media reports, she was handcuffed as well.
While the girl was released from jail by a prosecutor’s order at a later point, she is prosecuted for illegal trade.
A case a file was prepared also against her family for negligence of a minor aged.
The case shocked not only the local society as the arrest took place in front of hundreds of passersby on a vivid Saturday morning.
Media and Greek internet users ironically commented that “finally authorities combat tax evasion and illegal trade.”
Under the pressure of public outcry, Police in Nafpaktos issued a statement on Tuesday, saying that the police officers arrested her on suspicion she was after people’s mobile phones.”
The Roma “girl was known to local police and that her family had also to deal with police in the past,” the statement added.
The Police denied reports that the girl was handcuffed.
A really sad case, significant of the fact that when prejudice in a society prevails Roma children are “guilty” and “suspect” either way.
Since the girl had obviously not stolen anything, she is prosecuted for “illegal trade.” That is she could not prove that she had obtained the pens with legal invoices, did not issue receipts, and not registered her business with a tax number and had deprived the state of direct and indirect taxes, like Value Added Tax.
How can these children be integrated in the society if they are considered as “outcasts”, “suspects” and “guilty” by birth?
PS I would even dare suspect she could be guilty of the huge Greek debt created by loans and tax evasion, hadn’t she be just 5 years old when the Greek economic crisis broke out. *sigh*
Arrested for selling pens?
Why haven’t some higher-ups been arrested for selling out the Greek economy in 2015?
So because she is underage and unsupervised, it is OK to let her wander the streets selling pens ? The response from empathists will be : “she needs to do this to survive” but then, do empathists recommend jettisoning rules, and on what basis ? empathy ? emotions ? feelings ? beliefs ? instant votes ? comment counts ?
@butofcourse The sly, incompetent bankers were let off to keep doing their malicious works after the 2008-9 crash, a crash that ruined the lives of millions. What was the reasoning for that: jettisoning rules, emotions or sympathy? The police should go after the ones that matter (politicians, banksters, financial managers) before wasting their time with insignificant “criminals” like this girl.
@Carl William. Thank you. So the sly, incompetent bankers (nothing said about politicians, civil servants, tax evaders, etc etc) have been let off, according to you. Until they have been gone after by the police, the laws won’t apply ? Just asking.
@Butofcourse: Thanks for including politicians and tax evaders (how about all those shipping magnates who offshore everything?). There are obviously priorities and this Roma girl is certainly not one of them.