Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Sunday wrote that Greece’s recent breakthroughs in two major terrorism-related investigations demonstrate that political violence must be confronted through the rule of law rather than retaliation, after authorities arrested suspects in the long-unsolved 2010 Marfin firebombing and a fatal July 1 arson attack targeting ruling New Democracy officials in Thessaloniki.
In his weekly Facebook post, Mitsotakis described the arrests as an important step toward delivering justice for the victims and their families, saying the state had fulfilled its commitment not to allow the cases to remain unresolved.
Referring to the Marfin firebombing, in which three bank employees died during anti-austerity protests in May 2010, and the recent death of Vagia Nestora in the Thessaloniki firebombing, he said the investigations demonstrated that democratic institutions ultimately prevail over political violence.
The Greek prime minister stressed that responsibility for determining guilt now rests with the courts and called for a united political front against terrorism, arguing there should be no room for equivocation or attempts to justify extremist violence. Greece’s response, he said, must always be based on the rule of law, democratic institutions and effective law enforcement rather than revenge.
Earlier, in the early morning hours of Sunday, before the prime minister’s statement was published, unknown assailants spray-painted threatening slogans on the political office of Deputy Minister Sevi Voloudaki and on her family’s home in the Cretan city of Chania (Hania). The vandalism included the messages “Death to New Democracy” and “Gas canisters at your homes,” an apparent reference to the deadly gas-canister firebombing in Thessaloniki earlier this month.
Police launched an investigation, with authorities treating the incident as an organized act of political intimidation.
In a social media statement, Voloudaki said neither she nor her family would be intimidated, adding that her family had learned to face adversity with dignity and that no one had the right to bring hatred and violence to the doorstep of their home. She also expressed outrage over what she described as support shown by some for those responsible for the attack that killed Vagia Nestora, vowing to continue serving the public while defending democracy and the rule of law.
Government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis condemned the vandalism, describing the slogans not as an act of protest but as an organized attempt to intimidate elected officials and a direct attack on democracy. He said targeting politicians and their families, threatening violence and fostering hatred had no place in a democratic society and could only be met with unequivocal condemnation.
The latest incident comes as Greece has seen significant developments in two of its most prominent domestic terrorism investigations.
This past week, counter-terrorism police arrested three suspects in connection with the coordinated July 1 gas-canister attacks on the homes of New Democracy officials in Thessaloniki, one of which resulted in the death of Vagia Nestora after a fire spread through an apartment building. According to local press reports, investigators believe the attacks were politically motivated and are continuing to examine the suspects’ broader network and possible links to extremist circles.
Authorities also announced the first arrests in the investigation into the 2010 Marfin bank firebombing, marking the first major breakthrough in the 16-year-old case. According to To Vima from this past week, the arrests followed renewed forensic analysis and the re-examination of previously collected evidence, developments that have been widely viewed as a milestone in efforts to resolve one of Greece’s most notorious acts of political violence.
Source: tovima.com
