Greek police has arrested a young street musician in Thessaloniki and triggered an outrage in media and internet community. The young woman was playing music in the city’s central Aristotelous square on Sunday.

Police officers arrested her and furthermore they filed a lawsuit for beggary.

The arrest triggered an outrage first of all among the members of the Musicians Union in Northern Greece who described the arrest as “unacceptable.”

“This is persecution of culture, it ‘s a SHAME!” musician and singer Dimitris Zervoudakis wrote on social media.

Drawing attention to the situation of street musicians in general, he added that “for some people this is pure survival.”

It is not the first time that street musicians in Thessaloniki are arrested.

In December 2016, street musicians organized a protest in the city complaining for being arrested for begging, occupation of public space and the non-payment of intellectual copy rights to AEPI agency.

They prosecute street musicians in Thessaloniki, they send away handcraft artists in Athens, all those who bring a colorful touch in the cities. what’s next? Sterile Greek cities?

UPDATE: Late on Monday, police in Thessaloniki dismissed reports that the street musician was arrested and faced a lawsuit. “She was only taken to police station,” police said, according to locla media.

PS thank goodness they don’t arrest street musicians for not issuing receipts or having a POS device thus adding to the Greek debt.