Latest news with #YannisSouliotis
The Star
11 hours ago
- The Star
Greek police arrest 12 in latest operation against sports-related gangs
ATHENS (Reuters) -Greek police have arrested at least 12 people during an operation to break up two gangs whose members they said were sports fans involved in drug trafficking, beatings, robberies and arson, they said on Monday. The large-scale operation was still in progress, police said in a statement. The gangs, who possessed explosives, were active in the wider Athens area and involved in clashes with rival soccer supporters, they added. Since the 2023 death of a policeman in clashes with hooligans in Athens, police have launched a major crackdown on criminality and violence surrounding sports. (Reporting by Yannis Souliotis, writing by Renee Maltezou, editing by Alexandra Hudson)
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Greek police arrest far-right group accused of robberies, assaults
ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek police said on Thursday they had dismantled a far-right criminal group linked to robberies, assaults and violence with a racist motive in the northern city of Thessaloniki. After a months-long investigation, police said they arrested on Wednesday 28 members of the alleged criminal gang, operating under the name Nationalist Youth of Thessaloniki or Defend Salonika, 13 minors among them. The group spent its revenue from membership fees on banners, helmets, flares and batons which its members used for activism as well as criminal acts, police officials said. Their targets included people with leftist or anti-establishment views, the officials said. The investigation found that the core members of the group, which was active in 2019 but re-emerged in 2024, planned their acts through a mobile application to avoid police attention. The adults had a leading role in the group that tried to recruit new members, mainly minors, police said. The members used a large number of social media accounts to spread their far-right beliefs, while revealing their criminal acts. Greece in 2020, following a five-year political trial, declared the far-right party Golden Dawn a criminal gang linked to a string of hate crimes, including the killing of a left-wing rapper in 2013. Golden Dawn emerged from obscurity during the country's financial crisis. (Reporting by Yannis Souliotis. Editing by Mark Potter)
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
EU border agency reviewing 12 cases of potential rights violations by Greece
By Renee Maltezou and Yannis Souliotis ATHENS (Reuters) - The EU border agency said on Tuesday it was reviewing 12 cases of potential human rights violations by Greece, including some allegations migrants were pushed back across the frontier, a practice for which Athens has already been chastised in European court. Greece, for years a favoured gateway to Europe for migrants and refugees from the Middle East, Africa and Asia, has been accused by human rights groups of forcefully returning asylum-seekers on its sea and land borders, a practice it denies. "There are currently 12 active Serious Incident Reports related to Greece under review by the Fundamental Rights Office. Each is being examined thoroughly," Chris Borowski, spokesperson for EU border agency Frontex, said on Tuesday. He said some of the cases referred to allegations of illegal pushbacks at the border but gave no further details of the circumstances. Two of the incidents occurred in 2025, nine in 2024 and one in 2023. Officials at the Greek coast guard and police, responsible for the sea and land borders, were not immediately available to respond to questions about the 12 cases. A coast guard official said staff operate "with a high sense of responsibility, and with full respect for human lives and human rights". In January, the European Court of Human Rights found violations of human rights by Greece over a case at its land border with Turkey, referring in its ruling to a "systematic practice of pushbacks". Any disciplinary action over rights violations would be up to the Greek national authorities. Frontex, which has also been accused by rights groups in the past of complicity in illegal pushbacks, is undergoing reforms and has warned states including Greece that if they fail to report potential rights violations co-financing may be withheld. Greece's coast guard has rescued over 250,000 people since 2015 when the country was at the frontline of Europe's migration crisis. Thousands of others have died at sea, according to the U.N refugee agency. Frontex's financing of Greek maritime operations was cut last year due to broader operational budget constraints but the agency still engages with Greek authorities, insisting on reforms, said Borowski. "Frontex has changed how it engages with member states. We no longer supply resources unquestioningly," he said. "(We)insist on standards and expect action." (Additioanl reporting by Amina Ismail in Brussels; Editing by Peter Graff)
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bribery scandals in Greece's public sector show persistence of corruption
By Yannis Souliotis and Renee Maltezou ATHENS (Reuters) - When Greek police raided the apartment of a 49-year-old planning officer suspected of bribery on the tourist island of Rhodes last week, they found thousands of euros stashed in her pots and pans and even the cooker hood. Dozens have been charged in the affair, the second case in recent months where officials are accused of taking bribes for building permits. Despite growth of over 2% that is the envy of wealthier euro zone countries, the scandals show that the corruption that helped plunge Greece into a debt crisis 15 years ago is still shackling its economy and undermining trust in institutions. Public sector corruption, including pork-barrel politics and bribery, costs Greece up to 14 billion euros ($15 billion) a year, said Harry Papapanagos, professor of economics and vice president of Transparency International Greece. "Corruption is costly in terms of growth, productivity, social prosperity," he said. "For Greece, such cases indicate that the cost is growing." The cases are not all local. Mass protests last month on the anniversary of a deadly 2023 train crash attacked years of failure to address known problems. EU prosecutors have charged 14 Greek officials with subsidy fraud over a contract for railway safety systems. Poor governance in turn undermines willingness to pay tax, harming state finances. Greece's shadow economy is among the highest in Europe at about 20% of GDP. Transparency International ranked Greece as second worst in the euro zone for perceived corruption in 2024, and in a Eurobarometer survey last July, nearly a third of respondents said they knew someone who had been bribed. In December, more than 100 people in northern Greece were charged in bribery cases, many of them town planners. If there is hope for anti-graft campaigners, it lies in police data showing that complaints of corruption doubled last year. The 49-year-old, who denies wrongdoing, was charged with participation in a criminal group receiving bribes of up to 100,000 euros for illegal building permits, court documents showed. In May 2024, a letter to police had accused Rhodes planning officials of enjoying luxury cars and foreign travel beyond their means, adding: "Their greed has no limit." ($1 = 0.9271 euros) (Writing by Renee Maltezou; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Yahoo
Limpet mines likely caused blasts on two tankers in Mediterranean Sea, sources say
By Renee Maltezou, Yannis Souliotis and Jonathan Saul ATHENS (Reuters) - Mines attached to the hulls of ships and set off with timers likely caused blasts that have damaged two crude oil tankers in the Mediterranean Sea since January, three sources close to the investigation said on Monday. At least five vessels have been damaged, including explosions on the Greek-managed tankers Seacharm and Seajewel which Reuters reported last week. The incidents have raised concerns of a new security threat in the typically safe waters of the Mediterranean, just as the shipping industry is dealing with attacks in the busy Red Sea route. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. It is not clear who is responsible for the alleged attacks. The vessels had recently called at Russian ports, according to ship tracking data and sources. The cause of the damage to the vessels is being investigated by Greek and Italian authorities. The location of the blasts on the vessels' hulls, the type of blast and other evidence suggest limpet mines, said the sources who had knowledge of the matter but who spoke on condition of anonymity. "Strong indications suggest that BPM 1 or BPM 2-type limpet mines were used," one of the sources said. The source was referring to explosives used on the Searcharm and Seajewel, which were damaged in the Mediterranean in January and February. Two other sources said the damage on one of the tankers, the Seacharm, was consistent with an explosive device such as a limpet mine. Separately, two maritime security sources also pointed at limpet mines being behind the blasts on both tankers, based on the damage and their own assessments. Judicial authorities in Italy said they did not have permission to comment while the investigation is underway. A spokesperson for Athens-based Thenamaris, which owns and operates the Searcharm and Seajewel, referred questions to Greek and Italian authorities overseeing the investigation. Limpet mines are named after the disk-shaped sea snail that clamps onto rocks. The mines are attached to ships with magnets and usually contain TNT (trinitrotoluene) explosives that are triggered with a timer, one of the sources said. Greece's coastguard and armed forces are investigating the cause of the blast on the Seacharm off Turkey. The armed forces were asked to examine the type of explosive used, based on a sample of the debris, a military source said. Italian prosecutors have launched a terrorism investigation into the Seajewel incident. Maritime security sources have not ruled out intentional damage for these and others tankers recently hit by blasts, including the Koala, damaged in the Russian Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga this month and the Russian cargo ship Ursa Major, which sank off Spain in December after reporting an explosion.
