Street battles in Greece after march against police violence

Police and youths clash at Athens protest against police brutality after video showed a police officer beating a man with a baton.

Greek police in Athens have fought street battles with youths protesting against an incident of police violence that prompted widespread condemnation and put policing under the spotlight. More than 5,000 people marched on Tuesday in the capital’s Nea Smyrni neighbourhood amid an uproar after a video on social media showed a police officer in the same area beating a young man with a baton during a patrol on Sunday to check that people were following coronavirus restrictions. Reports said clashes broke out after a group of some 200 masked protesters headed towards the police station in Nea Smyrni, a typically calm Athens suburb.