March 29, 2024

News Cymru

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Greece – Taxpayers Besiege Police Station For 24 Hours

Athens News is reporting a mini revolution on a small Greek island where the islanders of Hydra trapped the police in the island’s police station for 24 hours.

The situation was only resolved when 2 squads of riot police were dispatched from Athens.

Apparently the police tried to arrest a woman who did not issue a receipt to her customers. The woman, the owner of the business took ill at the threat of arrest and had to be taken to hospital.

The police then returned to the business to arrest an employee, her son and this is what finally sparked the uprising.

From what I have read the reaction of the islanders on Hydra is completely understandable. The arrest of an employee of the business is a complete overreach of police powers. Not only does it show the police not having even the most basic understanding of the law it also shows that they have a complete disregard for the rights of citizens by choosing to arrest a Greek citizen without first finding out if they actually had the right to do so.

The uprising was completely non violent, no person was injured so I am completely behind this type of protest.

The duty of the police is the serve the citizens and not abuse the citizens, the same citizens who pay their wages.

Although I welcomed the article in Athens News I do have one criticism of it and that is of the terms used in the article.

The author constantly uses the term “tax-evasion” despite there being absolutely no evidence to support the papers claim.

This is typical of the Greek media, ie to apply dramatic labels even though no proof exists to back up their assertions.

So there is no confusion. The police tried to arrest the lady for not giving a receipt to the customer. I am not sure if this is a legal obligation in Greece, I am 99% sure that it is not in the UK.

In the UK at least it is only criminal not to issue a receipt, whether it is given to the customer or not is irrelevant.

Whatever the case maybe in Greece, the incident on the island of Hydra is clearly not tax evasion, it is a case of a customer not asking for or being given a receipt by a business owner, this is something completely separate from actual tax evasion. It is a big an important distinction that Athens News has completely overlooked.

Video from EuroNews, you will notice that they also misreport the incident as “tax evasion” http://www.euronews.com/2012/08/22/greek-island-tax-evasion-amateur-footage-shows-local-anger/

This is the full Athens News article

Hydriots protest tax-evasion arrest
 
20 Aug 2012
 
Hydriots revolted when taverna owner's son was arrested for failing to give receipts (Eurokinissi)
 
Hydriots revolted when taverna owner’s son was arrested for failing to give receipts (Eurokinissi)

Residents on the island of Hydra revolted against the financial police on Friday, when a prominent taverna owner’s son was arrested for tax evasion.
 
Protesters surrounded the police station, and officials were forced to call in riot police in order to complete their inspections, as reported in Ta Nea. The conflict climaxed when some Hydriots stormed the Flying Dolphin that provides transport to the island and fought with crew members, delaying the departure of the boat for three hours.
 
The controversy was sparked when the economic police began conducting their routine inspections in touristic areas of Hydra. One of the inspectors went to investigate a seafood taverna, only to find that several tables had not been given VAT receipts, as is lawfully required.
 
The inspector asked the 55-year-old owner of the taverna to accompany him to the police station, whereby she fainted, and professing health problems, asked to be taken to the hospital, where she was guarded to prevent escape. Meanwhile a case was prepared against the women, and the police arrested her 25-year-old son, who worked in the business, instead. 
 
The sight of the young man in handcuffs angered many residents, and throughout the day a growing number of protesters gathered outside the police station demanding that he be set free. 
 
By the time night fell at least 200 residents had assembled outside the police station, and some cut off the water and electricity, effectively holding the police hostage. Protestors also blocked off the port, believing that the police planned to take the suspect back to Athens.
 
When a Flying Dolphin came into port around 9pm, they boarded the ship, looking for the young man.
 
This resulted in a brawl between the protesters and the crewmembers, until port workers intervened and escorted the islanders off the boat. Meanwhile, other protesters continued to blockade the police station until the morning.
 
Early Saturday morning MAT riot police arrived on the island. It was the first time riot police had ever intervened on the island, a fact which further enraged residents, who claimed that it tarnished the island’s reputation and put off tourists. MAT officers with helmets, vests, and shields went to the police station to rescue their imprisoned colleagues.
 
The islanders verbally protested but did not further intervene in the matter. The taverna owner’s son was subsequently released as he was not the legal owner of the restaurant. He claimed that he had been intending to write up receipts for the customers.
 
But the situation was not completely resolved, until a second wave of MAT riot police was dispatched, and accompanied the financial police on their inspections.

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