Notaries call off auctions amid big police operations

Notaries in Athens and Piraeus decided yesterday to call off auctions of repossessed properties scheduled for today because of major police operations in the capital.

Security measures in Athens have been stepped up for demonstrations due to be held today for the ninth anniversary of teenager Alexandros Grigoropoulos’s murder as well as for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit on Thursday and Friday.

Around 2,800 officers will be on duty for the visit of Erdogan, who will be accompanied by 200 bodyguards. Some 120 Turkish policemen are already in Greece to prepare for the visit, which will lead to road and metro closures in the city center.

The police have also ordered Syntagma and Panepistimio metro stations to close between noon and 4 p.m. today, when rallies to commemorate the death of Grigoropoulos, who was shot by a policeman in 2008, are expected.

The notaries suggested that police commitments this week mean security would not be tight enough at the auctions. There were serious disruptions last week when activists clashed with riot police at an Athens courthouse. The notaries added that the traffic restrictions would also make it difficult for the auctions to take place.

The government is still clearly uncomfortable about home foreclosures. SYRIZA MP Giorgos Kyritsis described the protests against the auctions as “healthy” and “to some extent useful.”