A protest march took place in Athens on the afternoon of Wednesday, July 15, against the backdrop of two tragic incidents: the death of a 20-year-old in Argos, shot multiple times by two police officers, and a fatal workplace accident in Aspropyrgos, where a 54-year-old worker was killed in a factory explosion. Extra-parliamentary left-wing parties, anti-authoritarian groups, collectives, and various organizations gathered at Propylaea in central Athens. Turnout was described as significant, with demonstrators voicing their outrage over police brutality and the ongoing crisis of workplace safety. Regarding the 20-year-old’s death, protesters labeled the incident a “state murder” and called emphatically for the exemplary punishment of the officers involved and an immediate end to police impunity.
“For the sake of profit”
The workplace accident in Aspropyrgos was equally central to the demonstration. Organizers argued that this incident, like others before it, is the direct result of a criminal failure to provide adequate safety measures in the workplace — all “for the sake of profit.” A police presence was deployed along the march route, and chants against police violence rang out throughout the demonstration. The rally’s central demand was summed up in the banner at the front of the march, which called for “a barrier — from Argos to Aspropyrgos — against state and employer killings.”
