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Violent clashes between Roma and police began in the Athens suburb of Menidi in the early afternoon. The reason for them was the death of a 7-year-old girl from the neighbourhood that died in hospital after a police officer hit him with his police motorcycle.

The tragic incident occurred in midday hours. The policeman pushed the girl while she walked on the street with other children. According to residents of the neighbourhood, the policeman dragged the child for about 150 metres and did not stop to help him.

The police refute these allegations. An official statement says that the policeman went to work. A van moved before him that made a dangerous maneuver to the right to avoid the children that suddenly jumped out on the street.

In an attempt to avoid a collision the policeman also turned right but he did not see the children hidden behind the van. He failed, however, to put on the brake and dragged the 7-year-old girl. The police stressed in the message that the officer stopped immediately and asked help from his colleagues on the radio station. Ambulance arrived on the scene and drove the child to hospital under police escort.

The police version about the perpetrator's behaviour is confirmed by the owner of a shop located near the scene. Later, relatives placed a bouquet of flowers and balloons there.

Enraged Roma began to gather as soon as they knew about the tragic accident. About 100 relatives and friends of the child's family and residents of the Roma neighbourhood blocked one of the central streets and set fire to rubbish bins while shouting slogans against the police. According to them, no official had arrived after the accident.

A group of Roma attacked a train passing nearby shortly after 15:15. They threw stones at it for several minutes without wounding any of the passengers. Train traffic in the area was halted for security reasons for about an hour.

Riot forces came in the neighbourhood that used tear gas to disperse the Roma, who threw Molotov bombs at them. The situation got to its normal much later but police forces remained in the area for the night.

The policeman was arrested shortly after 15:30 and he is expected to testify before the prosecutor. A case file on the case was initiated.