A video that was taken in Evros has been making the rounds on the internet, and in it, "militia guards" are seen to have "arrested" immigrants who they blamed for the fires.
The man taking the video blames the immigrants for the fire in Alexandroupolis, while in his "manifesto", he can be heard saying: "They are sworn to burn us."
"I'm telling you this: get organised; let's go out and collect them; they will burn us. That's all I'm telling you," he adds.
See the video:
After the uproar, Alexandroupolis police brought the vehicle's owner to the station.
According to the police, the man is a foreign national. In addition, two Greek residents were brought in and are being held, who allegedly participated in the "arrest" of the immigrants. As noted by police, all three are referred to prosecutors.
Also, in the same announcement, it is emphasised that the incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon near Alexandroupolis. 13 illegal immigrants of Syrian and Pakistani origin were being held illegally inside the trailer.
"Greek Police, in cooperation with the rest of the State Authorities, are working intensively and systematically to effectively guard the borders and dismantle the criminal rings of illegal immigrant trafficking while at the same time ensuring the observance of legality and aiming to limit the problem drastically," the announcement stated.
The announcement also points out that during August, Evros police prevented around 900 illegal entries into Greece from Turkey and arrested hundreds of traffickers.
"Greece is a state of law with a solid democratic acquis and humanitarian tradition. Self-judgment is not tolerated in any of its manifestations," the police concluded.
Meanwhile, President of the Hellenic Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou expressed her grief over the death of 18 people by the wildfires at Dadia in Evros, in a statement on Tuesday.
Shocked by the tragedy, the president noted, "we mourn for their loss, for the irreparable losses suffered by our fellow citizens, and for the destruction of nature, and we are grieving over our inability to prevent it."
She also expressed her concern over the course of the catastrophic wildfires currently ravaging many of Greece's regions, while noting that effective initiatives are urgently required "so that this grim reality does not become the new normalcy, but is instead be faced with determination and courage."
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen expressed "the EU's solidarity with Greece, again confronted with devastating wildfires," in social media on Tuesday.
"We will continue to support the Greek people and the ones bravely fighting the blaze on the ground. The EU is with you," she wrote in her Instagram account.
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