Greece bans public protests of more than 100 people, cites coronavirus concerns

Greece on Tuesday announced a temporary ban on protests of more than 100 people amid ongoing demonstrations in the country, with authorities citing concerns about the continued spread of COVID-19. 

According to The Associated Press, the weeklong ban will include fines of up to 3,000 euros ($3,650) for individuals involved in organizing demonstrations, with protest groups facing fines of up to 5,000 euros ($6,070). 

This comes as Greece has had more than 152,000 coronavirus infections and nearly 5,700 dead as a result of the virus, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. 

The temporary ban follows weeks of clashes between police and students protesting a proposed plan by the center-right government to police university campuses. 

Mass demonstrations have continued despite ongoing coronavirus lockdown orders in the country, with police on occasion using tear gas to disperse crowds, the AP reported. 

The government’s proposed university campus policing plan would end a decades-long ban in the country on police entering university grounds and establish a new campus police division. 

According to the AP, the proposal also includes limiting presence on campus to students, academic staff, employees and guests, as well as setting time limits for the completion of degree courses. 

Students have condemned the proposed changes, arguing that university campuses serve as important locations to express political dissent, aided by the free access of individuals on university campuses. 

The student demonstrations have been backed by Greece’s main left-wing opposition party, Syriza, which has labeled the proposed policies “arbitrary and undemocratic” and contributing to making universities “sterile and unfree.”

Despite the continuation of COVID-19 infections in the European country, pandemic-related deaths have dropped sharply since a spike in late 2020, according to the AP. 

Greece last month extended a November lockdown in the country as it experienced a rapid wave of infections, with health officials at the time saying that intensive care units had reached 83 percent capacity and soared to 91 percent capacity in the nation’s hardest-hit city, Thessaloniki.