A planned systemic attack on Athens’ Exarcheia district has accelerated recently with forced evictions, police patrols, searches and the normalization of violence by police.
During the early hours of Sunday, March 29 in Exarcheia, police forces launched an aggressive operation that resulted in 114 people being trapped inside a bar for two hours before being detained and taken to the Attica General Police Directorate (GADA).
The incident began after a trash bin was set on fire, prompting police to sweep forcefully through the area and attempt to break into the bar. Patrons and staff lowered the shutters to protect themselves, leading to a standoff during which police struck the shutters and later tried to enter using an electric cutter.
Despite police claims that they were pursuing unknown individuals who had allegedly attacked riot units, witnesses dispute this account. Of the 114 people detained, only two were ultimately arrested, both employees, and not for involvement in any attack. Instead, they face charges of disobedience, disturbing the peace due to the bar’s music, and refusing fingerprinting. No suspects matching the police’s allegations were identified, including among several detained minors.
The operation is widely viewed by the public as an act of intimidation directed at local businesses that protect residents from recurring police violence.
Later that night, people gathered in Exarcheia at the site of the morning’s events. They came together in solidarity with those targeted by the state and in protest against the brutal police crackdown. The gathering reflected growing community anger and deepening concern over the escalating nature of police aggression in the area.
This has become almost an everyday reality in Exarcheia: excessive state pressure and repression, ranging from surveillance to physical harm, targeting not only political groups but also ordinary residents.
The neighborhood, once a vibrant space of political expression, is now increasingly suffocated under the control of specialized government police units, making it a contested and occupied territory.
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