Greece’s Directorate for Combating Organised Crime (DAOE) has arrested two men, both aged 42, as part of the continuing investigation into the firebomb attack on May 5, 2010 on a branch of Marfin Bank on Stadiou Street in central Athens, which killed three bank employees. The arrests were carried out in the Athens districts of Kypseli and Chalandri, following the issuing of the relevant warrants.

An anonymous email sent to DAOE was the factor that reportedly prompted authorities to retrieve the the case file from the archives, according to reports. Sources say the message named the three individuals as responsible for the fatal attack.

How authorities traced the suspects

Upon receiving the email, the authorities reopened the file and thoroughly re-examined the pre-trial investigation material, cross-referencing the evidence, according to sources, with other pending case files related to the probe. The comparative analysis revealed that the three individuals named are also implicated in a separate case, and that they matched the physical characteristics, clothing and movements of those who carried out the fatal arson attack on the bank.

Third suspect thought to be hiding out in the U.K.

A third suspect, a 46-year-old woman, is still being sought, and an international arrest warrant has been issued for her. She is believed to be residing permanently in Britain, where she moved six years ago. Her arrest by British authorities, who have been briefed on the case, is expected.

Suspects connected to the anarchist movement

According to police sources, all three suspects are known figures from Greece’s anti-authoritarian scene, a loosely organised anarchist-leaning movement. The investigation remains ongoing.

The attack took place on 5 May 2010, three days before Greek MPs voted on the country’s first bailout memorandum, during a mass demonstration against the newly announced austerity measures. Hooded assailants infiltrated the protest and threw Molotov cocktails into the Marfin branch while staff were still inside. More than 20 people were in the neoclassical building at the time of the attack.

Four people died in the fire that followed: Angeliki Papathanasopoulou, who was pregnant with her first child, Epaminondas Tsakalis and Paraskevi Zoulia.

Lawyer for Marfin victims’ families: “It’s a sense of justice”

Lawyer Thrasyvoulos Kontaxis, who has represented the victims’ families and the injured over the years, spoke out following news of the arrests.

Speaking on Action24 shortly after the announcement, he described the development as a form of justice, both for those who died and for those injured in the 2010 attack on the Marfin branch.

“It’s a relief. A sense of justice, provided that the individuals involved have been sufficiently identified. It is also a sense of justice for another reason that the average citizen does not consider: all these years there were political forces in the country that trivialised this tragic event and tried to consign it to historical oblivion,” Kontaxis said. He added: “In this sense, it is a greater vindication both for the victims and for those who were in danger of losing their lives. I await the official announcements from the authorities.”

“We had lost all hope, first because of the passage of time, and second because of what had happened that day. There were people of a certain political persuasion who prevented the fire department from reaching the scene, and the cameras had been destroyed. We had all placed our hopes in God,” he added.