More than 1,500 young people and students from left factions, including main opposition Radical Left SYRIZA, have gathered at Propylaia in a rally to commemorate the death of Alexis Grigoropoulos by a policeman in 2008. The gathering of protesters was calm, under the watchful eyes of 8,000 policemen on alert.

This year’s protest has a double role as it also coincides with the hunger strike of inmate Nikos Romanos, who was a witness to the death of the young teenager. The prisoner is on a hunger strike to continue his tertiary studies following his success at his Panhellenic exams.

The rally will begin after 3 p.m. as a police announcement called for the banning of rallies until that time. Even so, those gathering have already shut down Panepistimiou Street.