Two young men have reportedly been attacked in Athens by up to 10 police officers after they were spotted holding hands.

Greek media reports the incident occurred on Friday 25 July.

It’s claimed George Kounanis and Harry Vassilakis were attacked by a group of ten uniformed Greek police.

According to the publication Lifo, after the two men objected to the verbal abuse of the officers, one of the policemen grabbed Mr Kounanis by the hand and shoved him against a nearby wall.

He was told this is “what real violence is”.

Mr Kounanis and Mr Vassilakis called an emergency helpline and were told to report the matter to Athens’s main police headquarters.

Mr Vassilakis said: “We feel as if we’re in a psychological maze. We feel totally helpless. We feel harassed by those who are supposed to protect us.”

Mr Kounanis is among hundreds of gay Greek citizens who have recently appealed to the European Court of Human Rights over the government’s decision to ignore an ECtHR ruling against its ban on same-sex couples from entering civil unions.