Korkoneas receives life sentence plus 15 months; Saraliotis receives 10 years and asks for suspension to his sentence

History has, time and time again, shown us that people suffer from lack of memory. History repeats its self tragically and I am sure that history it self is sick of repeating. We stand by incapable of relieving it of its martyrdom .

Now more than ever, we must lift it from its miserable stagnancy. It is impossible to forget. We cannot forget. We have no right to forget. We have a duty to move here, there, anywhere but not return to our couches as mere viewers of the fate of the above-mentioned “lady” (history). We can show history round the world we trust. A world devoid of inequality. A world where our sweat will at last matter. A world where our life will not depend on meaningless conflict and negotiations nor of course depend on any sort of ostracism or any metaphysical phenomenon.

So, I am afraid we’ll forget and we’ll go back home to the warmth that freezes our conscience. I fear we’ll end up watching the news once again without our action in it. We‘ve started something which we have a duty to bring to a conclusion not to an end. It’s time to awaken history and even on crutches. Lead it under our banner to the country, so much talked-about, the country to which we suddenly got tickets for. Let’s make the journey and let’s leave our entire luggage behind. Let us create everything from a beginning whose thread will look stable and inelastic. What we need is within us. It would be pathetic to let it remain within. It would be to egoistical to digest it. It would be destructive not to share it.

Repeating doesn’t make it perfect, it destroys evolution. I entreat you then not to forget to go out in the streets. History has always slept in the streets anyway.

As it has just been announced: Korkoneas, the murderer of Alexandros Grigoropoulos, has received a life sentence for the murder, plus 15 months for illegal weapon possession. His co-defendant and accomplice to the murder, Saraliotis, has received 10 years. Saraliotis has asked for his sentence to be suspended until the court of appeals; his demand is being considered now (14.30 GMT+2) by the court – this caused a reaction by Alexandros’ grandmother and the atmosphere in the courtroom is now tense.

Film footage of the incident in which 15 year old Alexandros Grigoropoulos was shot dead by police in the Exarchia area of Athens.

o, so u wanna no what happened in greece ??
A cop killed a 15 year old boy in a 50 meters distance. not enough... the country has to pay back like 500 Billions to the EU or I guess we're fucked. Still want more. The politicians and the prime minister, do not attempt to save the country, but steal as much money as they can ! they're ripping us apart.. the financial problem is all over us. So what is going on in greece ? We just do not stand here silent. We only desire a better future...

Grigoropoulos trial nears end from the greek media...

Lawyers in the trial of the two police special guards accused of being involved in the fatal shooting of teenager Alexis Grigoropoulos in the central Athens neighborhood of Exarchia in December 2008 began summing up yesterday and judges are expected to deliver their verdicts by the end of the month.
Eight months after the trial began, Zoe Konstantopoulou, the lawyer representing the Grigoropoulos family, called for both Epaminondas Korkoneas, the policeman who pulled the trigger, and Vassilis Saraliotis, who was on duty with him, to be found guilty of murder. Konstantopoulou argued that neither man had shown the necessary remorse for their part in the teenager’s death, which sparked days of protests and rioting in Athens. She said that, instead, they had displayed “cynicism” about their roles on the night of December 6, 2008.
Saraliotis insists that he has no regrets about his actions on the night of the shooting but Konstantopoulou claimed that he had provided “moral support” to Korkoneas, who fired the shot that killed the boy. The lawyer also accused Korkoneas of shooting directly at the group of people among whom the 15-year-old was standing. Korkoneas says that he fired after coming under attack from several thrown objects and had not aimed at Grigoropoulos or anyone else. Ballistic tests have shown that the bullet that killed the schoolboy ricocheted off a cement bollard. Witnesses have suggested the Korkoneas shot at the crowd rather than into the air or down at the ground.
The victim’s lawyer also insisted that the teenager was a normal 15-year-old who had no intention of playing the rebel, nor was he the member of any anarchist group.

The trial of the killers of Alexandros Grigoropoulos to resume and conclude in September; prosecutor recommends life-sentence for Korkoneas

#347 |

On Friday, August 6th, the public prosecutor described his verdict for the case of Epaminondas Korkoneas and Vasilis Saraliotis, the two cops who killed 15-year old Alexandros Grigoropoulos on the night of December 6th, 2008 in Athens. Τhe prosecutor rejected all “mitigating factors” brought forward by the side of the two accused cops. If his recommendation is upheld by the court’s judges, Korkoneas should receive a life sentence.
The trial will recommence on September 2nd. Following the trial procedures in Greece, it is now the turn of the two lawyers (those representing the cops and Alexandros’ family) to make their final speeches before the final verdict is announced -  which we expect to happen in the first week of September.

from the After the greek riots blog.

The trial of the murderers of Alexandros Grigoropoulos is drawing to a close

The trial of the murderers of Alexandros Grigoropoulos (special police forces Epaminondas Korkoneas and Vasilis Saraliotis) in the remote town of Amfissa is now drawing to a close, with the court testimonies of the two accused – who have been released, it is reminded, since June 6 (as the maximum, 18-month period allowed for their pre-trial detention was reached). We will be reporting on the sentencing of the two here. For all the other developments running and even if these two cops are some of the smallest tools of the machine – still, for the days we lived in December, and for Alexandros, we want to see them pay. No justice, no peace.

Teen killer tells court he is sorry from the kathimerini greek media...

Epaminondas Korkoneas, the policeman charged with the murder of teenager Alexis Grigoropoulos in December 2008, yesterday expressed his sorrow at the boy’s death during testimony before a court in Amfissa, central Greece.

On his first day of testimony, Korkoneas said he and his colleague, Vassilis Saraliotis, who has been charged as an accomplice, had come under attack from a group of youths three times on December 6, 2008. Korkoneas admitted to firing his gun two or three times as a warning to scare off the youths but said he did not realize that he had shot anyone until he heard about the teenager’s death a few hours later.

According to court sources, the special guard sobbed while addressing the court. “Both of us are victims. He is dead and I wish I were dead,” Korkoneas said. “I can’t believe someone is dead because of me,” he added. Korkoneas and Saraliotis received conditional release in June after 18 months in custody.

up date for amfissa trial Greece 7/7 today...

up date for amfissa trial Greece 7/7 today...

THE TESTIMONY OF THE UNIFORMED MURDERER IN AMFISSA

The Open Initiative of Action against the cover-up of the state murder of Alexis Grigoropoulos announces that it
postpones its actions in Amfissa because of the postponement (for a couple of days) of the day that the murderer
gives his testimony which is a land mark in this whole process.Tomorrow afternoon there will be a final briefing.

up date for amfissa trial Greece 7/7 today...

THE TESTIMONY OF THE UNIFORMED MURDERER IN AMFISSA

The Open Initiative of Action against the cover-up of the state murder of Alexis Grigoropoulos announces that it
postpones its actions in Amfissa because of the postponement (for a couple of days) of the day that the murderer
gives his testimony which is a land mark in this whole process.Tomorrow afternoon there will be a final briefing.

Protest in the town of Amfissa against the cover-up of the murder of Alexandros Grigoropoulos

|

The “Open Innitiative for Action Against the Cover-up of the State Assassination of Alexandros Grigoropoulos” has issued a callout for a demonstration in the small town of Amfissa on Wednesday, July 7th. It seems like this date will be the first of the defense of the two murderers, after which a verdict should be expected soon.

Security boosted at officers’ trial

The two police officers on trial for the MURDER shooting of teenager Alexis Grigoropoulos in December 2008 arrived at a court in Amfissa, central Greece, amid high security yesterday, a day after getting conditional release from custody.

Epaminondas Korkoneas and Vassilis Saraliotis, freed on Sunday after 18 months in custody, arrived at the courts in a van escorted by three counterterrorism officers. The block around the court building has been cordoned off and police are guarding the apartments where the two defendants are staying.

A coroner testifying as a witness for the Grigoropoulos family dismissed Korkoneas’s claim that he had shot into the air as a warning and not directly at the 15-year-old. According to Symeon Mesogitis, the wound left by the bullet in the teenager’s body and the deformities of the bullet itself rule out such a scenario.

TheTwo cops of murder of alexandros grigoropoulos freed on bail 6/1 greece

The two police officers on trial for the murder shooting of teenager Alexis Grigoropoulos in December 2008 received conditional

release from custody yesterday. The judge in the Amfissa court where the trial of Epaminondas Korkoneas and Vassilis Saraliotis is

being held has ruled that the two suspects should be freed on bail as they have completed 18 months in custody. Both men have

been barred from leaving the central Greek town and will have to report to the local police station regularly until a verdict is delivered.

They have been on trial – Korkoneas for shooting Grigoropoulos, Saraliotis for being an accomplice – since February.
NO JUSTICE NO PEACE FUCK THE POLICE!

Update on Alexis murderers case. 30/6/10

he murderers of Alexis Grigoropoulos are to be released

[en français]

The two members of special police forces, Epaminondas Korkoneas and Vasilis Saraliotis, who murdered 15-year old Alexandros Grigoropoulos on December 6th, 2008, are to be released from prison on bail within the next few days. This, because the maximum pre-trial detention (18 in months in Greece) expires on June 6th. It is speculated that their bail condition will be not to leave the small Greek town of Amfissa, where their trial is ongoing.

In other cases in the past, court cases have been hurried in and trial procedures have been speeded up in order to prevent defendants from being released after the 18 months. But this is not “just” any case…

It seems the 17 year old friend of Alexis Grigoropoulos,who was next to him when he was murdered by the cop epaminontas korkoneas,has dissapeared from the face of the earth.
In the meantime,the claims of the cop about suspicious behaviour on Zoodohou Pigis street the night of the murder,were denyd by the guard that was on shift at Har.Trikoupi street and Navarinou,Athanasios Dellis.
While the court has ordered the police to bring the 17yearold in whatever it takes,so he can testify in court,he has dissapeared from his school and his house.
The court received a letter from the police station of Psihiko,that said that the youth has not been back to school since february when the trial began in Amfissa.
After the court order to bring him in, he dissapeared from his house aswell.

ATHENS 26/5/10

The Greek judiciary will set free Epaminondas Korkoneas, the murderer of Alexis Several Greek blogs and websites began reporting a few hours ago that Epaminondas Korkoneas, the murderer of Alexis is to be released soon. Also, it seems the 17 year old friend of Alexis Grigoropoulos,who was next to him when he was murdered, has dissapeared from the face of the earth a couple time ago. RG Spread the word COPS PIGS MYRDERES! MPATSOI GOUROUNIA DOLOFONOI! WE DONT FORGET! WE DONT FORGIVE!

alexis Grigoropoulos trial from the greek press 30/4

Exarchia attack athens 30/4

Vandals broke into the political office of Deputy Environment Minister Thanos Moraitis in Exarchia, central Athens, yesterday. The five assailants wore hoods and used hammers to cause extensive damage.

A court in Amfissa hearing the trial of two policemen implicated in the fatal shooting of teenager Alexis Grigoropoulos in December 2008 is unlikely to reach a verdict by June 6, by which date the officers will be eligible for release, as they will have reached the 18-month limit on being held in custody. Sources said that the court still has to hear from 15 witnesses, including forensic experts.

#234 | The attempted cover-up of Alexis’ murder

Saturday, April 10, 2010 FROM OCCUPIED LONDON

From tragedy to farce and back again: a few notes on the ongoing trial of Alexis’ murderers

The trial of Epaminondas Korkoneas and Vassilis Saraliotis, the two cops who killed Alexandros Grigoropoulos, has been taking place in the remote town of Amfissa (230 km away from Athens) since mid-February. Away from the chaotic times of Athens, an outrageous cover-up of the murder is being attempted by the cops’ lawyer (Kougias) and largely assisted, it seems, by the court’s judge.

• First, the decision to hold the trial so far away from Athens (apparently for security reasons) causes tremendous access issues to eye-witnesses wishing to testify in court; many of them (who were Alexis’ friends) are juveniles and traveling away from Athens for a few days is near-impossible.

• One of the alleged “key eye-witnesses”, named Anta Tsormpatzioudi, has now proven to be a perjurer (false witness), willingly lying to court. Her original testimony had been accepted by the court, causing the lawyers of Alexis’ family to resign in protest (the trial continues with new lawyers).

• The testimony by Ms. Tsormpatzioudi was key, as her supposed “eye-witness account” was used for the reconstruction of the murder. However, a court order to publicise the mobile phone conversations between Tsormpatzioudi and a chief police-man of the local police station of Exarcheia (called Dimos Minoudis) reveals that the two had frequent conversations (that they had denied in court) – the first being three hours after Alexis’ assassination and continuing up until a few days prior to, and on the actual day of the re-enactment of the murder.

• A friend of Alexis’ who was next to him when he was assassinated (we had spoken with him then), now 17 years old, has denied to appear in court, as he claims to be under police surveillance and fears for his life – while he has also declared he has no faith in the trial process. The court has issued an order for the violent transfer of the teenager to court; he has now gone into hiding.

• Meanwhile, one riot policeman who was present at the scene also testified yesterday, claiming that the situation at the spot prior to the assassination was calm – and in this way contradicting the statements of every single other policeman – who were claiming that the shooting took place amidst rioting…

The “trial” continues.

Letter from the 17yearold witness of Alexis murder. 8/4/2010

"My initiative to write and publicise my position and clarify the reasons why I am not going to appear in court came after reading and seeing the publications and following the development of both them and the development of the trial.
After taking a look at the media publications and what Mr Kougias said, I believe I'm obliged to take a position against him since he decided to do the same against me.
As for him not participating in the trial if I do not appear to testify, I state that with great happiness and impatience I wait for his non-participation and also his ridiculous statements, that only make me laugh.
As for the second part where he refers to my involvement in far left organizations, cooperation with criminals and other ridiculous things like that, i would like to say that they are just conspiracy theories of an imaginative lawyer who likes to create impressions and tries every way possible to cling on to timelines, regardless of whether they are positive or negative for him.

Nothing more than a mythomaniac "Karagiozakos" who has knowledge of the criminal code and likes to suck as much disclosure as possible, playing either the role of a victim (beaten, fainting etc.) or that of a consequential professional.
As for the announcement from the police that they are not monitoring my every move, all I have to say is that saying that they are not following me around everywhere is like saying that Korkoneas did not shoot Alexis.

Id like also to clarify here that besides the publications, I had no intention to appear in court anyway because I'm not at all interested in the outcome of this trial. I consider it my political choice to not appear when the institution tells me to, but to express my point of view when and how I choose to.

So, I wish good luck to Mr Kougias and his client, and I challenge the Greek police to do their job, if they have the specific ability"

Posted by marius alexander jacop at 18:23

The attempted cover-up of Alexis’ murder

translate from after the greek riots blog.

From tragedy to farce and back again: a few notes on the ongoing trial of Alexis’ murderers

The trial of Epaminondas Korkoneas and Vassilis Saraliotis, the two cop-killers of Alexandros Grigoropoulos, has been taking place in the remote town of Amfissa (230 km away from Athens) since mid-February. Away from the chaotic times of Athens, an outrageous cover-up of the murder is being attempted by the cops’ lawyer (Kougias) and largely assisted, it seems, by the court’s judge.

• First, the decision to hold the trial so far away from Athens (apparently for security reasons) causes tremendous access issues to eye-witnesses wishing to testify in court; many of them (who were Alexis’ friends) are juveniles and traveling away from Athens for a few days is near-impossible.

• One of the alleged “key eye-witnesses”, named Anta Tsormpatzioudi, has now proven to be a perjurer (false witness), willingly lying to court. Her original testimony had been accepted by the court, causing the lawyers of Alexis’ family to resign in protest (the trial continues with new lawyers).

• The testimony by Ms. Tsormpatzioudi was key, as her supposed “eye-witness account” was used for the reconstruction of the murder. However, a court order to publicise the mobile phone conversations between Tsormpatzioudi and a chief police-man of the local police station of Exarcheia (called Dimos Minoudis) reveals that the two had frequent conversations (that they had denied in court) – the first being three hours after Alexis’ assassination and continuing up until a few days prior to, and on the actual day of the re-enactment of the murder.

• A friend of Alexis’ who was next to him when he was assassinated (we had spoken with him then), now 17 years old, has denied to appear in court, as he claims to be under police surveillance and fears for his life – while he has also declared he has no faith in the trial process. The court has issued an order for the violent transfer of the teenager to court; he has now gone into hiding.

• Meanwhile, one riot policeman who was present at the scene also testified yesterday, claiming that the situation at the spot prior to the assassination was calm – and in this way contradicting the statements of every single other policeman – who were claiming that the shooting took place amidst rioting…

The “trial” continues.

Update on Alexis murderers trial. 7/4/2010

The main witness,a 17yearold, has not appeared yet to testify against epaminontas korkoneas and vassilis saraliwtis,the cops who murdered Alexis Grigoropoulos in athens in december 2008. because of this, their lawer, the scum alexis kougias demanded fromthe court that he is brought in by force. According to the court,the youth that was holding alexis as he died, is the main witness.The youth was suppose to appear today but dint show.

His lawer said that the youth does not want to appear because he is in constant police surveilance and is still psycologically unfit to testify.He also mention that if the police dont stop following him around he wont come in to testify at all. The judge said that the courts leniency towards the witness,whos testimony is very important to the case, has worn out and asked for his forceful appearance.

1. The murderers lawer alexis kougias said that the witness is not appearing because hes trying to make a joke of the court. He also claimed that the 17yearold witness along with the other eye witnesses examined by the court, are members of the youth organization "Communist Liberation" and that they have a dangerous anti-governmental attitude and that they are trying to manipulate the trial through other ways.

Aswell he said that if the witness does not appear he will have to quit the case.

Update on Alexis murderers trial.

A 17 year old eye witness is giving evidence.

The 17 yearold described in court what he saw and heard on the night of the 6th of December,
The 17yearold, who lives in that area, said that on the night he was on Tzavella street with some friends.
At the same spot there were about 10-12 kids, and there was a dispute with the two cops.
The kids were not aggresive against Epaminontas Korkoneas and Vassilis Saraliwtis which were on foot,said the 17 yearold,
saying also that he did not see the cops shoot but heard the shots.
He also mentioned that he did not hear the cops warn them before they shot.
Immediately after the shots, him and his friends ran to the spot where Alexis was laying and pulled him a bit to the side with the help of another kid.
"Alexis was still alive and trying to breathe" he said, and then broke down in tears.
After a small break,in order for the witness to calm down,he mentioned that he saw blood on his hands and lifted Alexis shirt and saw the wounds.
The 17 yearold gave directions as to where the cops were standing, which matches the autopsy report.
His testimony continues.

Grigoropoulos trial UP DAY 18/3/10

The court in Amfissa, central Greece, that is hearing the trial of the two policemen involved in the shooting of teenager Alexis Grigoropoulos in December 2008 yesterday rejected an appeal by the two new prosecution lawyers for a one-week suspension so they could get up to speed with the case file. Nikos Konstantopoulos and Zoe Konstantopoulou have taken over the case after the two previous prosecution lawyers quit after a dispute with the judge over legal procedures. Judge Angelita Papavassiliou said that she would consider a request by Grigoropoulos’s mother, Gina Tsalikian, to testify for a second time.

news from the press

Grigoropoulos judge quits trial

The judge presiding over the trial of two policemen charged with the murder of 15-year-old Alexis Grigoropoulos in Exarchia in December 2008 quit yesterday, complaining that the prosecution lawyers had cast doubts about her impartiality following her questioning of testimony given by a witness to the shooting.

“I cannot take anymore. My impartiality has been questioned before the trial has even begun,” Angelita Papavassileiou, said. She condemned the behavior of lawyers on both sides, accusing them of “turning this court into a wrestling ring even though I know you drink coffee together.”

Papavassileiou’s withdrawal came after the two prosecution lawyers said they would quit due to the judge’s interpretation of some laws.

It is unclear who will preside over the court on Wednesday when the trial is to resume with testimony from a friend of the dead teenager who had been with him on the night of the shooting.

Testimony of Eyewitness of the Assasination of Alexis Grigoropolous

Public testimony of an eyewitness of the assassination of 15 year's old boy Alexis Grigoropoulos from Greek Police that lead to December riots and general social revolt that still going on in Greece. The girl that she speaks in this text videotaped from her balcony above the spot of the assassination of Alexis the short-video that became world famous. She will be witness against the cop Ep. Korkoneas in his trial. This witness is a fragment from a bigger text and is included in the book "WE ARE AN IMAGE FROM THE FUTURE / The Greek Uprising of December 2009” that will be released in U.S.A. in February 2010 in U.S.A. from AK Press and is edited by A.G.Scwartz and comrades from Void Network.


Testimony of Eyewitness of the Assasination of Alexis Grigoropolous

I am an Exarchia resident whose balcony overlooks the spot where Alexis Grigoropoulos was murdered

I’m not so involved in any political activities. I’m not an activist. I can only speak about the killing. I can’t take a position on all the other things that happened because all these other things are very complicated and I don’t have clear thoughts on them.

Exarchia has always been an alternative, counterculture neighborhood. For many years it was a frequent occurrence that something would happen on a street corner in Exarchia and suddenly everyone from the cafes and the bars and the sidewalks would pour out into the streets and run to see what was happening. Usually it was incidents between people and police, some fights, confrontations, insults, shouting matches. In the old times it happened very often. Then there was a period when this didn’t happen so much, but in the last years it has started becoming more common again.

The reason that I found myself with a camera on the balcony that night was because I had always wanted to film one of these confrontations that are always taking place below my window. But every time I would come to my balcony to see what was happening, I got delayed. By the time I went back inside to get my camera it was too late, it was already over. This happened to me many times. And the last time that it happened, I said to myself, the next time, first I’ll grab the camera and then I’ll go to the balcony.

And in the end the next time turned out to be an incident that I never expected could happen. Two years earlier a friend visited me from Germany and he mentioned to me that the police here seem very provocative and dangerous. Even though he was a tourist, the way they behaved made him feel less safe, they made him feel endangered. And when this friend heard about what happened on the 6th of December, he wrote that he wasn’t at all surprised. But I was.

All the previous times, I never got scared observing these fights between people and the police. It was part of my everyday life in Exarchia. It was something commonplace. Because the Exarchia locals express their negation of authority firmly, and they believe in it, whenever something was happening I didn’t need to take a position or make a stand because it was just a part of life in this area. Of course in the ten years that I’ve lived in this flat, I’ve observed year after year a gradual increase in the police presence, an intensification. Policemen began to appear on every corner in the neighborhood, in groups, and also they were armored. The feeling of observing armored police in full riot gear carrying pistols, tear gas guns, and machine guns—it was getting more and more intense. In this period the slogan started to appear on the walls: “on every street corner there are police, the junta didn’t end in ’73.”

On 6 December I was here in the apartment with my German friend. He was cooking in the kitchen and I was in the living room. Suddenly I heard a bang. I hadn’t heard any noises before that. Nothing was happening in the streets, no shouts, nothing. Without warning there was just a bang. It seemed to me that it came from down the street, on the lefthand side. Despite the surprise this time I remembered to grab my camera first. I was not in a panic, I didn’t feel anything unusual, I just calmly got the camera and went to the balcony. I didn’t think anything extraordinary had happened. I looked outside, but I didn’t turn the camera on in the beginning because nothing was happening. I saw a few youths down to the left, sitting like they always do. The young anarchists are always hanging out down there, although this night there were fewer than normal. And on the righthand side, up the street, I saw a police car parked at the corner. One moment after the police car drove off, I saw two cops coming back on foot, and this was very strange to me. I asked myself, what are they going to do? They arrived at the spot where the car had been before, and started provoking the kids, saying come on you pussies! When I heard this I shouted to the German guy, come look! The police came and they’re starting a fight. He would get a chance to see this phenomenon of the Greek cops provoking a fight by insulting people. It’s normal that the police speak bad to people, but this was too much. It was provocative because they parked the police car and they came walking back and shouting challenges. That’s how normal people start a fight. It was like a personal fight, not the usual provocation by police.

Immediately after that they both took out their guns, both the cops. This was never mentioned by the media. And I got one surprise after another. First they came back on foot, then they started a fight by insulting the kids, then they took out their guns, and then they took aim, in a moment when there was no challenge and no threat, there was no fight or confrontation going on. And they shot. I heard two shots but I can’t say if both of them shot or if one shot twice. It’s possible that one of them shot twice. And they turned around and just left, simple as that, as though nothing had happened. Me, until that moment, it didn’t occur to me to look to the left, to the group of kids, because it was all so incredibly strange, the behavior of these two policemen. There was no need to look to the other side because nothing was happening there. And then I heard the people in the street shout that a kid had been shot. And then I felt panic. I ran inside, grabbed the telephone and called an ambulance, and I went down to the street. I saw just one kid lying there, and I was shocked. Everybody was shouting and many people were fainting. The kid wasn’t dead yet, and a doctor had appeared and was trying to administer first aid. Then the ambulance arrived and he died inside in the ambulance, I think.

I found out from other people that the first bang had been a concussion grenade. Apparently someone had thrown a plastic bottle at the police car and yelled an insult as it was passing and the police responded by throwing the grenade from the car. That’s not so unusual here. It’s normal to shout, everyone in Greece is shouting at each other. So I’m sure the policemen hadn’t been threatened, they weren’t defending themselves. Really, if a policeman feels a serious threat, he doesn’t drive down to the next corner then walk back to clean up the situation. Usually when the police feel a threat or feel like they’re under attack, they drive off, they get out of there. The police were not on the defensive at that moment.

I went back up and tried to watch the video on my computer, but I couldn’t because I was missing some program. So I knocked on my neighbor’s door and said I recorded something but I don’t know what it is. Can we put it in your computer so I can see what it is? And we saw the video, and the way I felt, I had never felt that way in my entire life. We called down all the people from the entire neighborhood, everyone, we all came down onto the streets, and the energy, the atmosphere, was one of rage. It was overflowing all the streets, everywhere people were pouring out of their houses onto the streets. Everybody.

The riot police had the gall to come here, back to this corner where the first cop car had stopped, and where the shots were fired. And of course everybody started shouting at them, young people, old people, normal people, everyone was shouting at them to go the hell away.


About two hours after the shooting, it’s impossible to say exactly how long but it was about two hours. The secret police came. I was back in my house listening to the radio and the TV, which were saying there were riots in Exarchia, that the police had been attacked and fired in self-defense, but this wasn’t true. And the riots hadn’t even started yet. And from my window I saw men without uniforms looking at the walls of the buildings around the shooting. The secret police had come to search for the shell casings and the bullets, to investigate the area. I was with my neighbor, and I told him I was going down. I wanted to react somehow to what they were saying on the news. So I went down and I said that what they’re reporting on the television wasn’t true. One tall old guy came up to me with a greasy smile, and said, yes, and who are you? And I felt an amazing fear. Because I’m very naïve, I just felt the obligation to go down and say the truth. But this guy, he terrified me. So I backed off and said, no, who are you? And he told me his name and his position. He was the chief of the secret police agency, and he was in charge of the autopsy and investigation. They took my name and telephone, and they asked me if I was going to come to the central police station to testify, and I said yes.

He asked me what happened. I brought him to the exact point where the policemen were standing when they opened fire. And exactly at that point was where they found the shell casings. And they asked me if I had a vehicle, if I could drive myself to the station. And I said no and they told me I would come with them. I said I hoped the people wouldn’t bomb the police car on the way, and the chief laughed and said have no fear. He directed me to where a large group of riot police were gathered, and I found myself in the middle of a MAT squad. It was right at that moment that the people attacked. The chief disappeared immediately, he ran away and they left me while the people were attacking, and I saw all the guns that the police had and I flipped out. I couldn’t focus on anything, I felt how powerful theHe asked me what happened. I brought him to the exact point where the policemen were standing when they opened fire. And exactly at that point was where they found the shell casings. And they asked me if I had a vehicle, if I could drive myself to the station. And I said no and they told me I would come with them. I said I hoped the people wouldn’t bomb the police car on the way, and the chief laughed and said have no fear. He directed me to where a large group of riot police were gathered, and I found myself in the middle of a MAT squad. It was right at that moment that the people attacked. The chief disappeared immediately, he ran away and they left me while the people were attacking, and I saw all the guns that the police had and I flipped out. I couldn’t focus on anything, I felt how powerful people were, they were full of rage. I can’t remember if they were attacking with stones or molotovs or clubs, only that they were overpowering and I had to get out of there. I ran away by myself and came back to my house.

Of course I was expecting that they would call me for an interview as a witness. But they never did. I spoke with a lawyer of the movement, Yianna Kurtovick, she’s one of the members of the Network for the Defense of Political Prisoners and Immigrants. And she brought me to the examining magistrate. I had to go to find the judge because the police never called me to testify. And after I testified, some days later, they closed the whole area to make the official report to prove whether the bullet hit the kid directly or if it richocheted off the ground. That was the official story, that the one cop had fired at the ground and the bullet bounced up and hit him.

The magistrate, the photographer, and the secretary came up to my balcony to take photographs. The chief of the secret police was down in the street. I called out to him, Oh hello, you left me alone last time in the middle of a riot. And he answered, I didn’t abandon you, it was you who was afraid that the rioters would burn us alive. And I said to him, Don’t tell lies in front of all these people.

I remember telling myself some years ago that I lived in a military camp, with all the police around Exarchia. Now I say that I live in a warzone. What happened in December, I never believed that it could ever happen. Despite all the feelings of military occupation provoked by the police. For me, there was always a limit, always a final line, and when the police crossed this line, it was a qualitative change. Everything changed. Everyone understood that there was a certain horizon to the situation and beyond it everything was different. We have passed this horizon. And now I say that it is not a conflict anymore, now it is war.

In comparison with before December, everything is more powerful. The assassination of Alexis was like the cherry on top, the last straw. Now there is no more tolerance for the police. The killing was so outrageous, so far beyond the limits, that the people reacted and still they continue to react. They are getting empowered from the rage that was expressed at the moment of the killing. There were many other problems too besides police brutality, and these problems continue, but the people don’t tolerate these other problems either, not anymore.

So I’ll be in the trial of the policeman who killed Alexis. I was worrying about how I’ll feel towards the defense lawyer, because he’s defending a very bad person. Then I started to worry about the outcome of the trial, because if this cop ends up with only two or three years in jail, I don’t know how I would react. How do you react to the decision of a trial like this? Because many terrifying things are happening, and we hear about them and see them on the news, but it is very different when you saw it with your own eyes. It is not just words, it is a clear truth for you, there is no doubt about this, there is no distance from it. It is such an absolute truth, the assassination, it is like if you steal something from me in front of my eyes and then tell me it never existed. It is not something you just heard about from somewhere else. And I fear very much that if they find this cop not guilty, maybe my reaction will get me thrown in jail. I think about this all the time, as I prepare to testify.

In memory of Alexandros Grigoropoulos, Ian Tomlinson, Jean Charles de Menezes, Carlos Juliani and so many other people killed by police.

We don't forgive - We don't forget

6th December - 2:30 pm - Bristo Square, Edinburgh