Friday, December 6, 2019

Greece: Mobilizations by pupils and students in memory of slain teenager Alexis Grigoropoulos

Hundreds of pupils, students, young men and women marched today in downtown Athens, commemorating the 11th anniversary of 15-year old Alexis Grigoropoulos' murder. 

The rally was also attended by workers, teachers, professors and people of every age who expressed their strong condemnation for police repression. 

The protesters shouted slogans against the violation of the academic sanctuary by the right-wing ND government, opposing the invasion of university faculties by riot police forces. 

Alexis Grigoropoulos was 15 years old when he was murdered by a police special guard in the district of Exarchia in Athens on December 6th, 2008. His murder had sparked days of street riots in major Greek cities. 

According to the case file, special guard Epaminondas Korkoneas fired twice with his revolver in the direction of a group of teenagers, hitting Grigoropoulos in the chest thus killing him instantly. 

Both Korkoneas, as well as his colleague who was with him, spent just 11 years in prison and were released last July following a provocative decision by a Court of Appeal. The ruling was based on a new legal code which came into effect on July 2019.