An unknown Greek anarchist group known as “Armed Response” recently claimed responsibility for a planned parcel bomb attack on a judge. The incident in question took place earlier this month at a courthouse in Thessaloniki, with experts managing to defuse the device before any harm could be caused. Armed Response’s statement, released Monday, criticized the work of judicial officers, alleging nefarious intentions.
The anarchist group accused the judicial officers of orchestrating actions designed to torture and impoverish prisoners and individuals awaiting punishment. They labelled judges, prosecutors, and appeals courts as a shielded cluster of torturers sustained by consecutive governments. According to the group, these officials are graft-impaired, acting out of self-interest; authoring and manipulating laws for the gain of equally corrupt allies and issuing commands for personal enrichment.
The recent months have seen a rise in such anarchist activities. A significant event was witnessed on February 3, when a bomb went off outside the labor ministry in central Athens. Thankfully, no injuries resulted from the incident.
Anarchy in Greece has deep roots, with the movement taking credit for the overthrow of Greece’s military dictatorship in the early 1970s and demonstrating opposition to educational reform in the 1990s. Following the economic crisis in 2008, there’s been a noticeable resurgence of the anarchist movement, as younger Greeks disillusioned by what they perceive as a discredited political and economic system seek alternative paths. Such a long-standing presence highlights the complex socio-political landscape that Greece navigates.
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