Greece Arrests 7, Including 2 Iranians, over Arson Attacks on Israeli-owned Hotel

Police officers patrol alongside a steel wall at Evros river, near the Greek village of Poros. (AP file photo)
Police officers patrol alongside a steel wall at Evros river, near the Greek village of Poros. (AP file photo)
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Greece Arrests 7, Including 2 Iranians, over Arson Attacks on Israeli-owned Hotel

Police officers patrol alongside a steel wall at Evros river, near the Greek village of Poros. (AP file photo)
Police officers patrol alongside a steel wall at Evros river, near the Greek village of Poros. (AP file photo)

Greece's anti-terrorism police have arrested seven people over arson attacks against an Israeli-owned hotel and a synagogue in central Athens this year, police said in a statement on Thursday.

A 25-year-old Greek woman, two Iranians aged 46 and 36 and an Afghan accomplice, 44, were arrested over a May 15 attack with a makeshift incendiary bomb on a building housing an Israeli-owned hotel and restaurant, according to Reuters.

The four were accused of arson that could potentially put human lives at risk and of causing damage to foreign-owned property in a racially motivated attack.

In another incident on June 18, a 44-year old Greek man and a 26-year old Afghan rode near a synagogue in Athens on a motorcycle and threw flammable material at its entrance causing fire, police said. A police official said a 30-year-old Iranian had been arrested as their accomplice.

The three were accused of arson, gun possession and robbery among other violations, the official added.

Police have seized evidence including mobile phones found in a residence in Athens and a prison.

Five of those arrested have been detained and two released on restrictions while awaiting trial.



American Imprisoned in Russia Sentenced to New 15-year Jail Term for Espionage

Pedestrians pass by the Bolshoi Theater decorated for Christmas and the New Year festivities in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
Pedestrians pass by the Bolshoi Theater decorated for Christmas and the New Year festivities in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
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American Imprisoned in Russia Sentenced to New 15-year Jail Term for Espionage

Pedestrians pass by the Bolshoi Theater decorated for Christmas and the New Year festivities in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
Pedestrians pass by the Bolshoi Theater decorated for Christmas and the New Year festivities in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

A Russian-born US citizen already imprisoned in Russia on a bribery conviction has been handed a second 15-year jail term for espionage, Russian news agencies reported Tuesday.
A Moscow court brought espionage charges against Gene Spector in August 2023, although details surrounding the case were not made public, The Associated Press reported.
Spector, formerly an executive at a medical equipment company in Russia, was previously sentenced to 3.5 years in prison in September 2022 for enabling bribes to an aide of former Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich. The aide, Anastasia Alekseyeva, was sentenced to 12 years in April for taking bribes of two expensive overseas vacation trips.
Dvorkovich was a deputy prime minister under Dmitry Medvedev in 2012-2018. He is currently head of the international chess federation FIDE.