Turk jailed pending trial in Greece over gun attack at supermarket

A 22-year old Turkish national was jailed pending trial in Greece on Tuesday after killing another Turk and seriously injuring a third in a gun attack, with police sources saying both victims were members of a criminal gang. (Reuters/File)
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Updated 18 June 2024
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Turk jailed pending trial in Greece over gun attack at supermarket

  • The gun attack took place at a supermarket in the port city of Piraeus on Friday afternoon
  • The victims, a 42-year old man who died and a 23-year old man who is being treated in hospital, were members of the “Baygaralar” criminal gang that has been operating in Türkiye’s Adana city

ATHENS: A 22-year old Turkish national was jailed pending trial in Greece on Tuesday after killing another Turk and seriously injuring a third in a gun attack, with police sources saying both victims were members of a criminal gang.
The gun attack took place at a supermarket in the port city of Piraeus on Friday afternoon.
The 22-year old man confessed when he appeared before a prosecutor on Tuesday, who ruled that he should be detained pending trial, a legal source said. He told police last week that the attack was an act of revenge for his uncle’s death and it was not related to criminal gang activities.
The victims, a 42-year old man who died after being shot multiple times and a 23-year old man who is being treated in hospital for bullet wounds to the chest, were members of the “Baygaralar” criminal gang that has been operating in Turkiye’s Adana city, the sources said.
They fled a few months ago to Greece due to gang rivalry and fears that they would be arrested by Turkish authorities after a recent crackdown on the criminal group, they said.
The injured man’s brother was killed a month ago in Berlin, while more “Baygaralar” gang members are suspected to have fled to other European countries, the sources added.
Greek judicial authorities do not officially comment on ongoing cases.
Following a tipoff by the Turkish intelligence service and acting on an international arrest warrant, Greek police arrested in May Ramazan Baygara, the suspected leader of “Baygaralar,” wanted by Ankara for a range of crimes including manslaughter. An extradition request is pending approval.
Turkiye and Greece, NATO allies and historic foes, have long been at odds over maritime boundaries among other issues. In recent months they have made high-profile steps to ease tensions and have stepped up cooperation in many sectors including security.


UK police to arrest those chanting ‘globalize the intifada’

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UK police to arrest those chanting ‘globalize the intifada’

  • Pro-Palestinian groups say the move will infringe on the right to protest and misunderstands the meaning of the word
  • UK police say the context surrounding the chants has changed after the Bondi Beach attack
LONDON: People publicly chanting pro-Palestinian calls to “globalize the intifada” will be arrested, UK police warned Wednesday, saying the “context had changed” in the wake of Australia’s Bondi Beach attack.
The announcement by the police forces of London and the northwest English city of Manchester swiftly prompted accusations of political repression by some campaigners.
The move follows father-and-son gunmen killing 15 people Sunday at a Hanukkah festival on the Sydney beach and an October attack on a Manchester synagogue on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.
“We know communities are concerned about placards and chants such as ‘globalize the intifada’,” the UK capital’s Metropolitan Police and Greater Manchester Police said in a joint statement vowing to “be more assertive.”
“Violent acts have taken place, the context has changed — words have meaning and consequence. We will act decisively and make arrests.”
Jewish groups welcomed the announcement, with the UK’s Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis calling it “an important step toward challenging the hateful rhetoric we have seen on our streets, which has inspired acts of violence and terror.”
But Ben Jamal, from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, said in a statement that it infringes on the right to protest.
“The statement by the Met and GMP marks another low in the political repression of protest for Palestinian rights,” he said, ahead of a planned central London pro-Palestinian protest Wednesday evening.
He criticized the lack of consultation over the move, adding “the Arabic word intifada means shaking off or uprising against injustice.”

‘Sickening’

“It came to prominence during the first intifada which was overwhelmingly marked by peaceful protest that was brutally repressed by the Israeli state,” Jamal said.
The intifada refers to Palestinian uprisings against Israel. The first raged from 1987 to 1993, while the second flared between 2000 and 2005.
UK police have already stepped up security around the country’s synagogues, Jewish schools and community hubs in the wake of this year’s violent incidents.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar urged Australia to act against a “surge” of antisemitism after Sunday’s atrocity, echoing similar previous demands aimed at Britain.
In a social media post, Saar branded slogans heard at pro-Palestinian protests such as “Globalize the Intifada” “Death to the IDF,” the Israeli military, as antisemitic and violent incitement.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whose wife is Jewish, denounced the weekend gun rampage in Australia as “sickening,” saying it was “an antisemitic terrorist attack against Jewish families.”
Chief prosecutor Lionel Idan said Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) was “already working closely with police and communities to identify, charge and prosecute antisemitic hate crimes.”
“We will always look at ways we can do more,” he added.
Hate crime referrals and completed prosecutions rose by 17 percent to 15,561 in the year to June 2025, according to the CPS.