The trial was opened to-day at Verria, near Salonica, of 11 persons accused of having instigated and taken part in the antisemitic outbreak which occurred in Salonica last July, in which the Campbell Quarter, inhabited almost exclusively by Jews, was burned down.
About sixty witnesses are being called and the trial will probably continue for ten days. Several clashes occurred between the counsel on either side during to-day’s opening of the trial, over the question of the moral responsibility of three of the accused, M. Bico Fardis, the editor-in-chief of the Salonica Government paper “Hayedonai”, M. Cosmidis, President of the National Hellenic Union, a body with strong antisemitic tendencies, and M. Haritopoulas, the Secretary of the Union, who are being charged with moral instigation leading to the anti-Jewish outbreak.
In order to avoid anti-Jewish demonstrations, the trial is not being held in Salonica, but in Verria, a small town in the Salonica district, which has a population of 40,000, including 400 Jews.
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