By Olivier Acuña Barba •
Published: 15 Apr 2025 • 23:04
• 3 minutes read
Dozens of major news outlets – including Reuters, AP, DW, and Al Jazeera – reported that a new Greek “extremist” group claimed responsibility for the April 11 victimless train company bombing.
However, one significant problem with their coverage is that the Revolutionary Class Self-Defense never claimed an attack. Reuters, AP, DW, ABC News, and Sky News, among dozens of other reputable news media outlets, based their reporting on the political statement the extremist group released via the Athens Indymedia website.
The only mention of the attack is in the headline, which was highly likely written by the leftist-anarchist news outlet and not by the group itself. EWN’s reasoning behind this assertion is that throughout the 5,000 words after the headline, the group never mentions the attack nor the date of the blast near the Hellenic Train company, which, however, they blame for the tragic railway accident that left 57 dead.
Instead, the group mentions massive protests they participated in and might have even helped organize: two large rallies that took place on January 26, 2025, and February 28, 2025.
Massive protests, not bomb attacks
“On January 26, 2025 and February 28, 2025 respectively, hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated against the government of murderous anti-worker restructuring and Hellenic Train, a subsidiary of the Italian monopoly Ferrovie Dello Stato, which bears primary responsibility for the murder of 57 of our fellow citizens in Tempe on February 28, 2023,” the group’s text reads.
On January 26, thousands poured into the streets of Athens demanding justice over the country’s worst train crash, involving a head-on collision of a freight train and a passenger train. The demonstrations were largely peaceful.
They also said the violent protests of February 28, 2025, which did become confrontational with riot police firing volleys of tear gas, stun grenades, and water cannons at protestors hurling gasoline bombs and smashed-up paving stones in Athens.
These protests were also against the conservative government’s perceived lack of accountability in the wake of the train disaster. However, no one was injured. Police detained over 120 people. And the Revolutionary Class Self-Defense says in their statement the protests and clashes with police were also a demonstration against the “American-Sionist genocidal war in Palestine.”
Cowards are not confrontational, or are they?
The group states they are a “revolutionary movement” needing mass mobilisation and “armed confrontation.” A blast near a train company is not confrontational; it is more of an act of cowardice, which does jibe with their rhetoric
Most media outlets, except for AP, claim Greek police are investigating the extremist group, but that is also highly likely false, as an in-depth EWN investigation found no confirmation that it was true.
DW, Al Jazeera, and Reuters, among others, also falsely reported that the group had also said they were behind the 2024 attack on the Labour Ministry. However, the group never mentions 2024 or the ministry.
No confirmation from Greek police
Reuters ends their article saying “the group said it dedicated both attacks to Palestinians in the Gaza war.” The text actually says, “We dedicate these two actions to the Palestinian people and their heroic resistance.” The two actions are clearly the two protests earlier this year the group mentions.
The extremist group finalises their statement saying both demonstrations were also in solidarity with the struggles of the people of Palestine, particularly those from Gaza.
They also reported that the Greek anti-terrorism police were looking into a previously unknown extremist group, a claim viraltrendingcontent investigated in depth but found nothing about. Reuters also reported that an anti-terrorism unit had investigated a previously unknown guerrilla group.
According to an April 13 AP report, police are following leads, including images of one or two individuals on security cameras and possible cellphone conversations. After emails to the Greek police and scouring their website, press office portal and top Greek media outlets, viraltrendingcontent was unable to confirm AP’s claim.
However, an hour after the bomb blast of April 11, the Greek police wrote on X that the Directorate for Combating Special Violent Crimes was carrying out a preliminary investigation.
