A journalist from the Athens News Agency (AMNA) was seriously injured during the police dispersal of a firefighters rally in Athens – he was hit by a jet from a water cannon, the journalist had a broken leg in two places, the Union of Greek Photographers EFE reported.
The authorities recruit a significant part of firefighters only for the fire season, which this year turned out to be extremely difficult. In the summer, firefighters were called heroes when they put out the worst fires across the country in 40-degree heat. In the fall, they lost their jobs, and “seasonal” firefighters from all over Greece at a rally on Friday demanded permanent work instead of temporary contracts. The police used tear gas, stun grenades and a water cannon to disperse the rally. One firefighter sustained serious hand injuries and had to amputate his finger.
A journalist was also wounded. “During the incidents that took place at the rally of ‘seasonal’ firefighters in Athens, our colleague Orestis Panayiotou, an AMNA photojournalist and member of the EFE audit committee, was wounded by a water jet from a special police car while pouring water on a group of protesters,” the Union of Photographers’ Union said in a statement.
“A colleague at that time was at a specific point selected by the operator of the machine (for dumping water), as a result of which he lost his balance and injured his leg,” the message says.
Later it became known that the photojournalist had two leg fractures, he was given a plaster cast.
The Greek police have officially announced that they are investigating the injuries of a “former seasonal firefighter” and a photojournalist.