Greece: Fourteen Militants Acquitted

fourteen militants belonging to the OKDE (Organization of International ist Communists of Greece), Greek section of the Fourth International; the Maoist organization EKKE; the Proletarian Left group; and the communist organization Machitis. The far left organizations responded to Caramanlis's attack with a solidarity campaign organized by an od hoc committee. This committee succeeded in collecting tens of thousands of signatures and got solidarity motions adopted by trade-union and student organizations. This was achieved in spite of the reserved attitude of the two Communist parties, which limited themselves to taking very vague positions without openly expressing solidarity with the indicted militants and in spite of the silence of the PASOK, a large left socialist formation. The committee also organized a series of meetings, of which the largest was held in Athens on September 27. Another meeting, organized on the initiative of the far left groups, was held at the Polytechnical Institution during the trial. The Polytechnic had been the scene of big workers and student struggles under the military dictatorship. The trial was held in an atmosphere of tension. The presiding judge had selected a small room in order to limit the public character of the trial. All the witnesses for the prosecution were highranking policemen who had held posts of responsibility under the dictatorship. Both the defendants and their attorneys declared that some of the prosecution witnesses had persecuted them in various ways. One policeman in particular was accused by one of the defense attorneys of having refused his father a passport; the attorney's father later died in prison. Two of the defendants and one woman who was observing the trial were sentenced to four months imprisonment on charges of contempt because they called the police fascists. In spite of all this and in spite of the government's desire to teach the far left a lesson, the testimony presented by the prosecution proved too ridiculous to justify a guilty verdict. The court had to acquit the militants, thus admitting that the government had attempted a frameup with no basis in fact.