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> Greece

Hundreds of foreigners in Athens defy Covid measures – Greek Minister Georgiadis: “unacceptable” (videos)

Police enforce laws against Greeks but not foreigners, many online users claimed

Newsroom January 3 11:36

The Minister of Development and Investment, Adonis Georgiadis, dubbed ‘unacceptable’ the images of large numbers of Pakistanis flooding Syntagma Square for the celebration of the New Year, in an interview this morning on Ant1 TV on Monday morning.

While Greeks were forced to comply with the strict Covid-19 measures, under the pain of fines, many foreigners, the majority of whom reportedly of Pakistani origin, totally ignored the law and roamed the centre of the Greek capital on the new year’s eve with no consequence.

“These images are completely unacceptable. As soon as I saw them, I called the police and they told me that this lasted for about half an hour,” said Georgiadis about images and videos that surfaced online showing hundreds of foreigners who crowded the centre of Athens in front of the Parliament despite the Covid measures.

 

@mohamodmahammed♬ الصوت الأصلي – Mohamod Mahammed

He added that the police told him that they had been informed that there would be no event, due to the measures for the pandemic and that the gathered people had left Syntagma Square within half an hour.

 

@mohamodmahammedAthens,?? Greece??????♬ الصوت الأصلي – Mohamod Mahammed

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In videos posted on social media, hundreds of people could be seen celebrating the new year, causing an outcry by many Greeks who said police were using double standards in implementing the rules in favour of foreigners.

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