Greek police fined for illegal monitoring

ATHENS, Greece, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- Greek police have been ordered to pay a fine for using traffic cameras for surveillance of a student demonstration in Athens.

The Hellenic Data Protection Authority also said police kept images from the CCTV cameras for a week, an additional violation, Katimerini reported. The fine was set at $4,200.

Police told Katimerini only 88 cameras in Athens are functional and in use, because many have been set on fire. The cameras were installed for security for the 2004 Olympic Games.

High-ranking police officers said the cameras are only used to monitor traffic flow and are not even used to pursue violators of driving regulations.