THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — A court has acquitted 21 people accused of raiding prospective gold mining facilities in northern Greece, which many local residents strongly oppose on environmental grounds.
About 40 masked people attacked the facilities at Skouries in the Halkidiki peninsula in February 2013, assaulting security guards and setting fire to machinery and offices.
The court in the northern city of Thessaloniki found Friday that there wasn't sufficient evidence to convict the defendants, all of whom had denied any wrongdoing.
The charges had included attempted murder, possession of explosives, arms offenses and forming a criminal organization.
The mining facilities, owned by Canada's Eldorado Gold, have split Halkidiki residents. Many welcome the jobs that the mine would bring, while others say it would destroy the environment.
