Police bans rallies in Thessaloniki as protest against documentary planned

Police in Thessaloniki issued a ban on public gatherings on Tuesday amid concerns about a rally that was being planned to protest a screening at the northern port city's annual documentary festival.

According to reports, a rally was being planned at 7 p.m. outside the festival's flagship Olympion cinema on downtown Aristotelous Square.

Square to protest a screening of "Stray Bodies," a documentary by Greece's Elina Psykou that explores body autonomy and women's rights. 

The film's poster, portraying a pregnant woman dressed in a scarf and loin cloth and nailed to a cross, has sparked furor among ultra-conservative groups, including those involved in organizing Tuesday's planned rally.

The police ban comes after a mob of dozens of youths attacked two transgender individuals on Aristotelous Square on Saturday night.