Greece has charged six suspected members of militant guerrilla group, the leftist Revolutionary Struggle, over a series of bomb attacks, court officials said today.
The five men and one woman, aged between 30 and 40, were arrested yesterday in what appeared to be a major strike against those believed to be behind a number of attacks on police, the government and businesses since 2003.
"The prosecutor has charged them with participating in bomb attacks, participating in a terrorist group and attempted murder, illegal possession of explosives and guns, among other things," the court official said.
The six suspects have all denied any wrongdoing.
"It is an important step for us as a government and a society to fight terrorism and crime, to develop a feeling of security among citizens, especially at these difficult times of social and economic crises," deputy minister for defence Panos Beglitis told Greek television.
Police raided dozens of suspects' homes over the weekend and today. They said they had found a hard disk containing pamphlets claiming attacks by Revolutionary Struggle as well as handwritten texts about past and intended attacks.
Dozens of masked youths set fire to garbage containers and hurled stones at police in central Athens after the arrests yesterday.
Police said the suspects included Nikos Maziotis (39) who had been jailed for three and a half years for planting a bomb outside a ministry in 1997.
Reuters