Greece to release hunger strikers

Some summit protests ended in violent clashes

A Greek court has ordered the release of five anti-capitalists who are ill on hunger strike, their lawyers say.

The five - two Spaniards, a Briton, a Syrian and a Greek citizen - were held after riots in June at the European summit in Thessaloniki.

They face charges of possessing explosives and weapons, but say evidence was planted on them by police.

The order to free them was given by a court in Athens, on condition that they remain in Greece until their trial.

Officials said the protesters were not expected to be released before midday on Thursday when all the paperwork would be completed, according to the Reuters news agency.

One earlier report said doctors had been refusing to carry out an order to force-feed the five.

Hospital treatment

They have been refusing food for weeks. At one point they were also refusing fluids, although they are believed to now be accepting them.

Briton Simon Chapman says evidence was planted

They are formally prisoners of Athen's maximum security Korydallos prison, although some are being treated in hospital.

The force-feeding order came from public prosecutor Aristidis Frangiadakis who ordered doctors to "undertake all necessary actions to save the lives of the prisoners".

"Mandatory nourishment" was a legitimate measure, he said.

But doctors treating three of the suspects at a state hospital near the prison said the measure was illegal and unethical, and said they would not carry out the order, AP news agency reported.

The Greek Government had been refusing pleas to free them on compassionate grounds. Human rights group Amnesty International has called for an investigation into claims that the five were mistreated by police.