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Greece: Hoax Kurdish man closes US Embassy
26.4.2007 |
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A
Kurdish man fabricated a story about an attack on
the US embassy in Athens
April 26, 2007
Athens, Greece, -- Anti-terrorism police
sealed off the US Embassy in Athens yesterday and
searched the surrounding area following a tip-off
about a possible attack on the building which turned
out to be groundless.
The alarm was raised late Tuesday night after a
29-year-old Iraqi Kurd visited the embassy claiming
to have information about an imminent attack on the
embassy, ostensibly to be carried out by Iraqi
acquaintances of his.
But the police determined that the 29-year-old had
fabricated the story to wreak revenge upon his
acquaintances who, he claimed, were linked to the
terror group al -Qaida.
He was subsequently charged with disseminating false
information.
«It was clear from early on that this might not be a
serious case, as the 29-year-old's story was full of
inconsistencies,» a senior policeman told
Kathimerini. «But we were obliged to mobilize our
forces,» he said.
After the man's warning, police sealed off the
embassy, inspected cars in in the area and raided
several homes in central Athens, detaining 75
immigrants, mostly Iraqis. Of those detained, 54 are
to be charged with violating immigration laws.
But police failed to find any explosives or any
leads.
During further questioning, the 29-year-old said he
planned the hoax after being cheated out of 5,000
euros by his acquaintances, according to police.
The man had asked for a reward in exchange for the
tip-off, officials said.
US Ambassador Charles Ries merely noted that «the
cooperation (with Greek authorities) was excellent.”
ekathimerini com
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