Original:  http://www.legalteam2003.info/gr/2_gr.htm

Today Friday 20.06.2003, members of the Legal Team, were present along in actions by demonstrators at N.Marmara Xalkidikis, as well as at the Greek-FYROM borders.

In Xalkidiki, during the period of the scheduled demonstrations, squads of riot police (MAT) used tear gas in order to repeal the demonstrators that had arrived at the edge of the "red zone". An excessive amount of tear gas was launched repeatedly on the demonstrators and resulted in the injury (burns from tear gas canisters) of two of them. Continuing the use of tear gas, the squads of riot police, followed the demonstrators that had left the red zone all the way to inhabited areas of the village of N.Marmara. As a result a lot of demonstrators, locals, or even tourists experienced breathing problems, and other injuries. After the continuing repealing of demonstrators by the police forces, the demonstrators were forced to disperse and leave the place of the demonstrations before the scheduled time.

Meanwhile, at the border station of Nikis at the Greek-FYROM border, demonstrators attempted to cross the borders to express solidarity to a group of Roma refugees from Kosovo, and provide them with food and medicine. The Greek border authority prevented in essence their crossing by detailed preventive searches, despite the fact that they were in possession of all necessary legal travel documents.

Concerning the above we note that: the current legal framework strangely does not regulate the usage of, even dangerous for health gas, while many of these are outlawed in case of armed conflict. It is obvious that for the purposes of public order, the usage of tear gas is subject to the, constitutional law's rule of proportionality. In the present case the volume of tear gas used was disproportionate to the desired goal, since there was no aggressive or attempted breach of the public order by the demonstrators, and additionally they were used indiscriminately against thousand of citizens, including those who were simply bystanders or locals. [?]

The above, concerning the rule of proportionality, are also relevant in the case of the interference to the right to leave the country. Even more when such interference results in Greek citizens not being able to leave the country, without any prior involvement of any judiciary decisions.