REPORTS
Reports of excessive police violence during the 2025 memorial march for Alexandros Grigoropoulos
According to reporting by Efimerida ton Syntakton, after the afternoon march, demonstrators were scheduled to gather at the site of the killing, at the corner of Mesolongiou and Tzavella streets in Exarchia. However, “police forces blocked access to Exarchia and, with a coordinated attack using flash‑bang grenades and chemicals, attempted to disperse the crowd. This was followed by beatings by riot police, chases through the streets and numerous detentions.”Mega TV also reported “beatings” and “extensive use of chemicals and flash‑bang grenades.”
SYRIZA stated that “the way the police acted shows that the order was to break up the gatherings and provoke incidents at any cost.” Alexis Haritsis, president of New Left, commented: “The stance of Mr Chrysochoidis’ police yesterday, blocking the peaceful march from reaching the memorial of Alexis Grigoropoulos in Exarchia and launching a ferocious attack on demonstrators, makes the message of that December remain painfully relevant.”
In its own announcement, ELAS presented a different account, claiming that a group of around 400 individuals carrying wooden sticks and gas masks, “launched a fierce attack against police units” at the junction of Panepistimiou and Emmanouil Benaki streets. The police stated that their forces were present to prevent their directed movement toward the Exarchia area and to safeguard order and security in the wider area.
ELAS added that “after the attack they suffered, police forces used only the absolutely necessary means to restore order, proceeding to 15 arrests of individuals involved in the attack,” and noted that a total of 54 people were detained before and during the gatherings.
In a state governed by the rule of law, the actions of police authorities must be guided by core principles including legality, proportionality, the prohibition of abusive exercise of police power, and respect for human rights. The duties and conduct expected of police officers are regulated, among other instruments, by Presidential Decrees 538/1989, 141/1991 and 254/2004.
Although the police may use force when necessary to enforce the law and protect human rights, this does not mean that any preventive or repressive use of force is lawful. Arbitrary or excessive use of force, or action that exceeds legal limits, constitutes a dangerous phenomenon in a democracy.
In this case, the reports raise concerns about compliance with the legal framework governing the lawful operation of ELAS, particularly regarding the prevention of excessive and arbitrary violence against citizens. This issue must be investigated by the competent state authorities and the judiciary.
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