(ANSA-AFP) - ATHENS, DEC 6 - Hundreds of protesters
demonstrated in Athens on Tuesday against police violence, a day
after a Roma youth was shot in the head in a police pursuit. The
demonstration was part of planned annual commemorations in major
Greek cities to mark the death of Alexandros Grigoropoulos, a
15-year-old fatally shot by police in 2008. His death sparked
days of youth riots in major cities at the time. Some 600
protesters took part in one of two planned demonstrations in
Athens, police said. Around 4,000 police were deployed in the
capital on Tuesday, with tensions running high after Monday's
shooting. A police motorcyclist in Greece's second city
Thessaloniki early on Monday shot a 16-year-old Roma boy after
he drove away from a petrol station without paying. The teenager
was hospitalised in critical condition. One of the banners
carried by demonstrators in Athens made reference to the unpaid
20-euro ($21) petrol bill. "A life is worth 20 euros," it said.
A police officer has been arrested and charged with attempted
manslaughter over the incident. The Greek police department said
the youth had tried to ram officers in pursuit on motorbikes in
his attempt to evade arrest. (ANSA-AFP).
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