Former Greek Finance Minister Janis Varoufakis was attacked and beaten by a group of masked strangers in front of a restaurant in one of the districts of the Greek capital, Athens, on Friday evening.
The left-wing opposition MP was first insulted by a group of about 20 people in front of the restaurant where he was having dinner with supporters of his Mera25 party. Varoufakis then went to the entrance of the restaurant to speak to them, but was attacked by several masked men who threw him to the ground, kicked him and punched him in the face. Varoufakis was taken to the hospital after the attack, where he was diagnosed with a broken nose.
Varoufakis took to Twitter to express his gratitude for the solidarity he received after the attack. But he denied reports that the attackers were autonomists, anarchists or leftists. According to him, they were previously hired thugs who accused him of selling Greece to foreign countries during the 2015 debt crisis when he was finance minister.
His party called the attack a “brazen fascist attack by provocative thugs”. Government spokesman Janis Ekonomo condemned the incident and assured that the police will do everything to bring those responsible to justice.
The Exarchia quarter, where Varoufakis was attacked, is known as the seat of anarchist movements in the capital. He was already the victim of a similar attack in front of the same restaurant in 2015.
Source: Rtvslo