Protests flare in Greece as station master jailed

A Greek railway employee was jailed on Sunday, pending trial over a deadly train crash. His detention comes as Greeks sieve of anger over Thursday's worst rail disaster in living memory. The man was arrested just hours after a passenger train collided head on with a freight train, killing at least 57 people and injuring scores more. The 59-year-old man was a station master but cannot be named under Greek law. He faces multiple charges of disrupting transport and putting lives at risk. He was questioned for seven hours before a magistrate, before being detained. His lawyer spoke outside court.

The accused said everything. He told the truth. He was devastated. He said exactly what happened without fear that his words would make him bear more responsibility. From what he said, there is evidence that constitutes criminal offences against him. It is something that justice will decide. Meanwhile, clash has erupted between police and demonstrators in the capital after thousands rallied to protest over the crash.

Videos showed demonstrators throwing objects, including petrol bombs, at riot police who responded with bollies of tear gas. Earlier, some 10,000 people had gathered in an affin square to express sympathy for the lives lost and to demand better safety standards on the rail network. They released dozens of black balloons into the air and paid near protest slogans on the ground. Railway workers, who also joined the demonstration, say the country's rail network has been creaking under cost-cutting and underinvestment, a legacy of Greece's debilitating debt crisis from 2010 to 2018. Greece's prime minister, who blamed the crash on human error, acknowledged that decades of neglect could have contributed to the disaster.

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