Greece
Journalist’s cracked skull is called a deliberate police attackPosted Apr 10 2012
A photographer was hospitalized last week in Greece after being beaten over the head with a truncheon by riot police in Athens, according to Reporters Without Borders.
Marios Lolos, head of a union of photojournalists, sustained a fractured skull and had to have surgery, the Associated Press reported.
The attack occurred on the second day of protests after a public suicide. A late retired pharmacist had left a note attributing his suicide to Greece’s stringent austerity measures, according to the AP.
Actions of riot police also resulted in the injury of media workers Makis Synodinos and Panagiotis Bousios. At least three more journalists were injured earlier last week in conflicts between riot police and demonstrators, and a journalist was assaulted by police in March, according to Reporters Without Borders. Journalists frequently face violence from police and demonstrators during Greece’s protests, the AP reported.
Reporters Without Borders condemned Lolos' attack as a “deliberate” attack on media. The police union also condemned the attack. Greek authorities were investigating, the AP reported.
Riots and protests in Greece have become common in recent years, due to the country’s recession and debt crisis, which has caused steep tax increases and spending cuts, affecting pensions and paychecks, according to the AP.