On Tuesday morning, Yanis Varoufakis made his first public appearance since he was attacked in the Athens neighbourhood of Exarchia. The blows he received to the face are clearly visible.
The secretary of the MeRA25 political party insists on the claim that the attacker who hit him was about 25 to 27-years-old.
Describing the attack, the opposition leader said he heard their voices for him to come out alone.
"I went outside, he was pushing me and hitting me and I said to him, 'I'm trying to respect you, to listen to what you want and you're hitting me?'" Varoufakis told ANT1.
"The face of the perpetrator is etched in my memory," Varoufakis added, arguing that that 17-year-old who was arrested "was a chili drinker."
When asked why he was without police officers, he said "I feel imprisoned when I go with police officers".
In the previous three days, Yanis Varoufakis, was the centre of attention. Yesterday, the secretary of the party visited the "Evangelismos" hospital again and removed the splint that the doctors had placed on his nose.
As Proto Thema revealed, he suffered a broken nose in six different places . He continues to recover and is following the instructions of his doctors in order to fully return to normality. Responding to a follower's post on Twitter, he stated that he is close to recovery and thanked him for his interest.
Getting there... [Thanks for asking] https://t.co/8izYFKQnLu
— Yanis Varoufakis (@yanisvaroufakis) March 13, 2023
At the same time, the investigation of the authorities to arrest the perpetrators is ongoing. He himself expected that on Monday he would be called again for a deposition, but this did not happen.
The former Finance Minister of the SYRIZA government, economist Yanis Varoufakis, who is now the leader of his own political party - known as MERA 25 or DIEM 25 - was brutally attacked and beaten by a group of five individuals in face coverings while dining at a restaurant in Exarcheia in central Athens on Friday night.
At around 21:30 local time, Varoufakis was in the company of his wife and members of his party “from all over Europe, when a small group of thugs stormed the place,” DIEM 25 describes in an announcement issued few hours after the incident.
The assailants reportedly told Varoufakis “you’re not welcome here, because you signed memoranda,” as the attack took place.
“Varoufakis stood up to talk to them but they immediately responded with violence, savagely beating him while they also filmed the scene,” DIEM 25’s announcement adds, in confirmation of earlier reports on Greek media.
In the early hours of Saturday, Varoufakis, who is still today a controversial figure in Greek politics, took to Twitter to address the assault.
After thanking the hospital staff for treating him, and his followers for their solidarity, Varoufakis wrote of his assailants: “They were not anarchists, leftists, communists or members of any movement. Thugs for hire they were (and looked it) who clumsily invoked the lie that I sold out to the troika. We shall not let them divide us. Onwards!”
Thank U to our Greek NHS staff for treating me. Thank U all for your solidarity. Let us please stay focused: We are mourning the 57 victims of rail privatisation. We support the spontaneous youth rallies, the greatest hope that Greece can change. See you at the demonstrations 1/2
— Yanis Varoufakis (@yanisvaroufakis) March 11, 2023
It is understood that with his comment, Varoufakis wanted to dismiss any attempted connection between the background of his assailants, and the area of Exarcheia – where the attack took place, and which has a reputation for being a stronghold of anarchists and political radicals in Athens.
However, one of the assailants arrested on Saturday was described as a 17-year-old anarchist who is known to police for previous involvement in riots.
Government spokesman Giannis Oikonomou had reacted to the news of the assault within minutes on Friday.
“We roundly and categorically condemn the attack on MERA 25 (party) secretary Mr. Y. Varoufakis. Thuggery has no place in our democracy and violence in any form is not tolerated,” Oikonomou posted to Twitter.
“Greek police will do whatever is necessary so that perpetrators face justice,” he added in another tweet.
Καταδικάζουμε απερίφραστα και κατηγορηματικά την επίθεση στον Γραμματέα του ΜΕΡΑ 25 κ. Γ. Βαρουφάκη. Στην δημοκρατία μας δεν χωρούν τραμπουκισμοί και δεν είναι ανεκτή οποιαδήποτε μορφή βίας.
— Γιάννης Οικονόμου (@joikonomou) March 10, 2023
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis wished Varoufakis a fast recovery from his injuries and reinstated the views expressed by Oikonomou.
Η επίθεση στον κ. Βαρουφάκη είναι απολύτως καταδικαστέα και δεν μπορεί να γίνει ανεκτή από τη Δημοκρατία μας. Του εύχομαι ταχεία ανάρρωση και είμαι βέβαιος ότι η Ελληνική Αστυνομία θα καταβάλει κάθε προσπάθεια, ώστε οι δράστες να οδηγηθούν στη Δικαιοσύνη.
— Prime Minister GR (@PrimeministerGR) March 10, 2023
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