Law enforcement snipers will watch from rooftops. Motorists will be checked at roadblocks across Athens. And at the courthouse, inside a maximum security prison on the eastern outskirts of the Greek capital, hundreds of plainclothes officers will patrol surrounding streets to shield against militant attacks.
Riot police armed with percussion grenades and tear gas will also be on alert as part of the security measures planned for the trial scheduled to begin Monday of 13 suspected members of the Conspiracy of the Cells of Fire, a militant anti-authority movement known as SPF.
"We are prepared for everything," said Athanassios Kokkalakis, spokesman for Greece's National Police.
The accused — 12 men and a teenage girl — are charged with terrorism counts related to a series of attacks on Greek politicians, which caused no fatalities or serious injuries. Under a new terrorism law, the defendants will be tried by a three-member panel of judges instead of a jury to avoid intimidation. Nine of the defendants, who are in custody awaiting trial, face up to life in prison if the court determines that their alleged activities could have resulted in the deaths of their targets. The remaining suspects, who remain at large, will be tried in absentia, officials said.
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