Draft:Murder of Alexandros Grigoropoulos
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| Murder of Alexandros Grigoropulos | |
|---|---|
| Location | Exarchia, Greece |
| Date | 6 December 2008 |
Attack type | Shooting |
| Deaths | 1 |
| Victim | Alexandros Griropoulos |
| Perpetrator | Epaminondas Korkoneas |
Alexandros Grigoropulos was a 15-year-old Greek student who was shot dead by the Hellenic Police special guard, Epaminondas Korkoneas, on 6 December 2008 in the Exarchia neighbourhood of Athens. The shooting resulted in widespread riots, clashes and demonstrations in December 2008 throughout Greece, which were characterized as the 2008 Greek riots which caused 1 billion euros worth of damage.[1] His memory is honoured every year with marches on the anniversary of his murder.[2][3]
History
[edit]Incident
[edit]On the evening of 6 December 2008, Grigoropoulos was in Exarcheia with his friend Nikos Romanos. Shortly before 9 p.m., a police patrol car passing through the area was heckled (some say with objects)[4] by a group of young men. It was then driven away, but the two police officers returned on foot, and one of them, special guard Epaminondas Korkoneas, aimed directly at the crowd and fired twice,[5] resulting in the death of 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos. The incident occurred at the intersection of Messolonghiou and Tzavella streets. He died instantaneously, as according to the forensic examination the bullet penetrated the heart and lodged in the tenth thoracic vertebrae.[6][7] The police officers then walked back to the police car and left the area.[8]
First reactions
[edit]Then-Minister of the Interior Prokopis Pavlopoulos, who was at a party event in Serres, immediately went to Athens upon being informed of the incident and, after making statements, submitted his resignation along with the deputy minister for reasons of indignation. However, the resignations were not accepted by Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis.
An amateur video recording the moment of Grigoropoulos' murder came into the hands of the television station MEGA, which broadcast it altered, adding sounds from a demonstration and broken shop windows before Korkoneas' shots were heard. The station and its news and information director, Christos Panagiotopoulos, were accused of deliberately distorting the video in order to lighten Korkoneas's position. In an article three years later, Panagiotopoulos of MEGA wrote that the alteration of the audio had been done voluntarily by a producer who had been assigned to edit the video.[9][10]
After being informed of the incident, Deputy Minister of the Interior Panagiotis Chinofotis immediately initiated the procedure to suspend the two special guards, as well as the commander of the Exarchia Police Station. Shortly afterwards, the guards involved were brought to the police station for questioning, while three prosecutors were immediately appointed to investigate the causes of the incident.
The prosecutor brought criminal charges of intentional homicide and illegal use of a weapon against the special guard who shot, and charged his colleague with simple complicity in homicide. The two special guards were referred to a regular investigator, who gave them a deadline to respond on Wednesday, 10 December.[11]
The news of the young man's murder was initially reported by Indymedia in Athens, where the information of many eyewitnesses was cross-checked, resulting in an accurate report. The radio and television stations were slow to broadcast the news and initially reported the official police version of the incident, according to which the police patrol car had been attacked by "massive anarchists" with sticks and Molotov cocktails, the police officer shot to save his life and the bullet "ricocheted", which was later refuted by the forensic investigation.[12][13] The information about the student's murder was immediately spread throughout Greece by the Internet and the mass media, which resulted in people from various political circles expressing their anger in major urban centers simultaneously, causing damage and arson. The violence shifted from the National Technical University of Athens to Evangelismos Hospital, where the murdered young man was taken and was simply pronounced dead.[14]
The state unanimously condemned the incident, while letters of condolence were sent to the victim's family by the Prime Minister, the Speaker of the Parliament and the President of the Republic, Karolos Papoulias, who even described the incident as a "trauma to the rule of law" in Greece.[15][16]
Trial
[edit]
In his defense to the investigator of the case, Epaminondas Korkoneas claimed that he had fired into the air and not at the group of young men, and therefore the young man's death was an accident, due to the ricochet of a bullet. He also tried to diminish the life and personality of the young man, claiming that he was a teenager with deviant behavior. Korkoneas' defense did not convince either the investigator, who ordered the pretrial detention of both police officers, or much less the public opinion and the media, which characterized it as insulting to the memory of the deceased and provocative.[17][18] The police officer's explanation (about the bullet being ricocheted) was refuted after the results of the forensic investigation showed that the direction of the bullet that lodged in Grigoropoulos' vertebra was from top to bottom (and not from bottom to top, which would have been logical if the bullet had ricocheted onto the road). The coroner's conclusion was: "blind chest wound from a small-caliber firearm - homicide".[19]
The mother appealed for respect for her deceased son in a letter to the media, while the family appointed Dimitris Tsovolas as a representative of the civil lawsuit.[20][21]
At the same time, the two defendants were deemed to be remanded in custody and taken to regional prisons, while their lawyer Alexis Kougias was subject to disciplinary action as, according to the announcement of the Athens Bar Association, he insulted a deceased person and defamed his colleagues who did not undertake the defense of the defendants.[citation needed]
See also
[edit]In June 2009, the Council of Misdemeanors ordered the referral of the two special guards to trial before the First Instance Criminal Court. The special guard who shot the student was referred for intentional homicide, while his colleague for complicity in homicide. The decision of the Athens Council of Appeals charged the first special guard with "conscious indifference" and that he foresaw the consequences of the shootings and that by aiming at the crowd he "approved of the killing of a person", while for the second defendant "his behavior does not fall short of criminal contempt", as he did not prevent his colleague and at the same time participated in "the counter-accusations and the exchange of insults" while demonstrating "a characteristic attitude of readiness and demonstration of power".[22] the trial of the case was set for 15 December 2009 at the Mixed Assize Court of Chalcis, as there was a view that a trial in Athens would cause further devastation in the city.[23] Following objections from bodies in the city of Chalkida, for fear of incidents, the criminal division of the Supreme Court referred the case to the Mixed Assize Court of Amfissa,[24] while the trial date was later moved to 20 January 2010.[25] Alexandros Grigoropoulos' side filed a request twice to transfer the trial to a room in Korydallos prison. The Supreme Court rejected the request both times, which led Grigoropoulos' side to turn to the European courts.[26]
Finally, the trial began in Amfissa on 20 January 2010, with the parties requesting a few days' postponement. On the same day, a march was held in the town of Amfissa, outside the courts.[27] The trial continued on 22 January, with both defendants pleading not guilty. The president of the court stated that the state was civilly liable for the death of the 15-year-old, to which the victim's family could turn if they wished, with the civil lawsuit expressing the position that the family could also turn civilly against the two police officers, as it considers that the act was committed in violation of an order.[28]
Verdict
[edit]On 11 October 2010, the Mixed Jury Court of Amfissa (consisting of 3 regular judges and 4 jurors) found both special guards guilty, Korkoneas of manslaughter with direct intent and Saraliotis of complicity. At first instance, Korkoneas was sentenced to life imprisonment and 15 months (votes 4–3) while Saraliotis was sentenced to ten years in prison (votes 6–1).[29]
The second instance trial began on 9 April 2014, at the Lamia Mixed Court of Appeal.[30] During the first hearing on 23 December 2016, Korkoneas had declared his unrepentant nature, resulting in his lawyer Alexis Kougias withdrawing from his defense.[31][32]
References
[edit]On 30 July 2019, and due to the decision of the Court of Appeal that recognized the mitigating factor of his previous good conduct, Korkoneas was released from Domokos Prison where he was being held. With the reduced sentence of 13 years, taking into account the sentence he had already served and the daily wages he had earned in prison, the court's decision was immediately enforceable.[33]
The appeal against the decision of the Lamia Joint Court of Appeal was requested by the Prosecutor of the Supreme Court, Vasilis Pliotas. The appeal was initially accepted by a vote of 4–3 by the criminal division of the Supreme Civil and Criminal Court of Greece on 4 February 2021, however, due to this small difference in votes, the matter was referred to and decided by the Plenary of the Supreme Court. In March 2022, the Plenary unanimously accepted the appeal of the Prosecutor of the Supreme Court, resulting in a new trial with a new composition, again at the Lamia Joint Court of Appeal and Korkoneas was arrested again.[34]
The trial began in June 2022.[35] The district attorney argued that Korkoneas did not deserve the mitigation he was given and requested his conviction for manslaughter with direct intent and in a calm state of mind. However, the prosecutor's proposal was not accepted - Korkoneas was recognized for his previous honorable life by a narrow margin of 4-3 (the 4 jurors decided in favor of accepting the mitigation and the 3 regular appellate judges decided to reject it).[36] On 28 June, Korkoneas was released from Domokos Detention Center in accordance with the decision.[37]
The Grigoropoulos family's lawyers, Nikos and Zoe Konstantopoulou, made an official request to the Prosecutor of the Supreme Court on 30 June, requesting an annulment of the decision, disciplinary control of the parties involved, and an investigation into whether there was any influence on judges and jurors.[38]
On 4 June 2025, the Lamia Mixed Court of Appeal imposed a life sentence on Korkoneas for the murder of Grigoropoulos,[39] rejecting the mitigating factor of his previous criminal record that had led to his release from prison.[40]
References
[edit]- ^ "Riots push Greece to the edge". 2008-12-25. Retrieved 2025-07-08.
- ^ "Ένα λουλούδι στη μνήμη του Αλέξη Γρηγορόπουλου". Η Εφημερίδα των Συντακτών (in Greek). 1 December 2020.
- ^ "Δολοφονία Γρηγορόπουλου : Πορείες στη μνήμη του υπό δρακόντεια μέτρα ασφαλείας". Το Βήμα (in Greek). 6 December 2019.
- ^ "Ο Ρωμανός γράφει για τη δολοφονία Γρηγορόπουλου και μιλά για τα γεγονότα του Δεκεμβρίου". LiFO. 2015-12-01. Archived from the original on 2019-07-31. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
- ^ Κατή, Κατερίνα (2011-05-07). "Ακαμπτη η φονική του βούληση". www.enet.gr. Ελευθεροτυπία. Archived from the original on 2011-07-29. Retrieved 2022-09-01.
- ^ Stavrides 2010, p. 2.
- ^ "Την εν ψυχρώ δολοφονία του 15χρονου επιβεβαίωσαν οι εργαστηριακές εξετάσεις". ΤΑ ΝΕΑ. 2008-12-09. Archived from the original on 2019-07-31. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
- ^ Αναπαράσταση της δολοφονίας του Αλέξη Γρηγορόπουλου - δελτίο ειδήσεων Ant1, retrieved 2019-08-01
- ^ Παναγιωτόπουλος, Χρήστος (12 December 2011). "Προσωπική μαρτυρία για τον Αλέξανδρο Γρηγορόπουλο". aixmi.gr. Archived from the original on 13 July 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
- ^ Gr, Tvxs (9 November 2018). "Fake News - Όταν το Mega παραποίησε το βίντεο της δολοφονίας Γρηγορόπουλου". tvxs.gr. Archived from the original on 4 August 2022. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
- ^ "Αρχειοθετημένο αντίγραφο". Archived from the original on 2008-12-15. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
- ^ "Πώς να κρυφτείς απ' τα παιδιά". Ελευθεροτυπία. 14 December 2008. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
- ^ Ο ΙΟΣ (26 July 2009). "Το άλλο πανεπιστημιακό άσυλο". Ελευθεροτυπία. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
- ^ "15-Year-Old Shot Dead by Police in Athens, Actions All Over Greece". Indybay. Retrieved 2025-11-13.
- ^ Ελευθεροτυπία: Κ. Παπούλιας: Τραύμα στο κράτος δικαίου Archived 2008-12-08 at the Wayback Machine, Enet - 07/12/2008, ανάκτηση 7/12/2008
- ^ Ert.gr: Οργή και καταδίκη[dead link], 7/12/2008, ανάκτηση 8/12/2008
- ^ "Ο Επαμεινώνδας Κορκονέας σπιλώνει τη μνήμη του θύματός του, ο Αλέξης Κούγιας ξανά στις οθόνες – αλλά και σε διεθνή πρακτορεία". Το Βήμα Online (in Greek). 2008-12-10. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
- ^ "Προκλητικός ο ειδικός φρουρός". Τα ΝΕΑ On-line. Archived from the original on 2008-12-15. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
- ^ Βραδέλης, Στέλιος (9 December 2008). "Την εν ψυχρώ δολοφονία του 15χρονου επιβεβαίωσαν οι εργαστηριακές εξετάσεις". Τα ΝΕΑ On-line. Archived from the original on 2008-12-10. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
- ^ Αναδίπλωση Κούγια για τα υπομνήματα των αστυνομικών Archived 2008-12-12 at the Wayback Machine ΑΝΤ1, ανάκτηση 11/12/2008
- ^ Ο Δημήτρης Τσοβόλας ανέλαβε την εκπροσώπηση της οικογένειας του Αλ.Γρηγορόπουλου Archived 2008-12-13 at the Wayback Machine in.gr, ανάκτηση 11/12/2008
- ^ Στο σκαμνί για ανθρωποκτονία με ενδεχόμενο δόλο για τον φόνο Γρηγορόπουλου Archived 2009-11-15 at the Wayback Machine, in.gr 25/08/09
- ^ Στις 15 Δεκεμβρίου η δίκη για τη δολοφονία του Αλέξη Γρηγορόπουλου Archived 2009-11-15 at the Wayback Machine in.gr 08/10/09
- ^ Στην Άμφισσα η δίκη της υπόθεσης Γρηγορόπουλου[dead link] ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ μέσω Καθημερινής 9/11/2009
- ^ Στις 20 Ιανουαρίου η δίκη των ειδικών φρουρών Archived 2016-03-05 at the Wayback Machine Απογευματινή
- ^ Στην Άμφισσα «για λόγους δημόσιας τάξης» η δίκη για τον φόνο του Αλέξη Archived 2009-07-01 at the Wayback Machine Τα Νέα
- ^ "epa - european pressphoto agency: Άμφισσα - Δίκη Αλ. Γρηγορόπουλου - Πορεία στο κέντρο της πόλης". www.google.com. Archived from the original on 2010-01-27. Retrieved 2025-11-12.
- ^ "Εντάσεις στη δίκη για τη δολοφονία του Αλέξη Γρηγορόπουλου". tovima.gr.
- ^ Ισόβια και 15 μήνες στον Κορκονέα, 10 χρόνια στον Σαραλιώτη Archived 2010-10-12 at the Wayback Machine - Τα Νέα 11/10/10
- ^ Αρχίζει στο Εφετείο Λαμίας, η δίκη Κορκονέα[dead link], Α.Π.Ε.-Μ.Π.Ε. 09/04/2014. Ανακτήθηκε στις 08/12/2018.
- ^ "Ο αμετανόητος Κορκονέας "έδιωξε" τον Κούγια από συνήγορό του". www.newsit.gr. 3 February 2017. Retrieved 2019-07-29.
- ^ Κουκουμάκας, Κώστας (2018-12-03). ""Δεν θα Ζητήσω Συγνώμη από Κανένα 15χρονο": Η Δίκη Κορκονέα Συνεχίζεται, Δέκα Χρόνια Μετά". Vice. Retrieved 2019-07-29.
- ^ "Αφέθηκε ελεύθερος ο δολοφόνος του Γρηγορόπουλου Κορκονέας". SLpress.gr. 30 July 2019. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
- ^ "Δολοφονία Γρηγορόπουλου: Στη φυλακή ξανά και σε νέα δίκη ο Επαμεινώνδας Κορκονέας". naftemporiki.gr. 18 March 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
- ^ Antonis (2022-06-29). "Greek Cop Who Killed Teen, Set Off Riots, Released Again". The National Herald. Retrieved 2025-11-13.
- ^ "Δολοφονία Γρηγορόπουλου: Ελεύθερος ο Επαμεινώνδας Κορκονέας". nafteboriki.gr. 28 June 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-08-05. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
- ^ "Murderer of teenager boy, Alexis Grigoropoulos, walks free, despite life sentence". Keep Talking Greece. 2022-06-28. Retrieved 2025-11-13.
- ^ "Δικηγόροι οικογένειας Γρηγορόπουλου: "Νομικό πραξικόπημα η αποφυλάκιση Κορκονέα"". tvxs. 30 June 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
- ^ Giannopoulos, Bill (2025-06-04). "Former Police Officer Sentenced to Life for Grigoropoulos Killing Greek City Times". Greek City Times. Retrieved 2025-11-13.
- ^ "Δολοφονία Γρηγορόπουλου: Ισόβια χωρίς ελαφρυντικά στον Κορκονέα – Ξανά στη φυλακή". Η Καθημερινή. 4 June 2025.
See also
[edit]