On 4 November 2022, a protest took place against the creation of a metro in Exarchia Square and the redevelopment of Strefi Hill. Complaints and reports describe an excessive use of force and chemicals by police officers against protesters and journalists (see 1, 2, 3).
15 protesters were, reportedly, very violently arrested, beaten and taken to the police station. By dawn they had not been charged, nor had they been allowed to see lawyers.
In a press release of 9-5-2023 , Amnesty International, “calls on the Greek authorities to conduct an immediate, thorough and impartial investigation into all allegations of excessive use of force, including the misuse of chemicals by riot police during the 4 November 2022 protest” and…”note with concern the frequency of reports of unnecessary and excessive use of force in the policing of demonstrations over the past two and a half years and calls on the Greek authorities to stop characterizing acts of the unlawful use of force as ‘isolated’, but instead to recognize the systemic nature of these abuses and to take concrete measures to ensure a human rights-compliant approach to policing demonstrations”.
In a state governed by the rule of law, the police authorities must be governed by certain principles, including the principle of legality, the principle of proportionality, the prohibition of the abuse of police power and the respect for and protection of human rights.
The powers of the police authorities and the conduct to be displayed by them in the performance of their duties are regulated, inter alia, by Decree 141/1991 and Decree 254/2004.
Although the police may use force to enforce the law, this does not mean that all use of preventive or repressive force by the police is lawful. On the contrary, the arbitrary use of the power to use force and police action in excess of legal limits is a dangerous phenomenon for a democracy.
However, the reported behaviour of the police forces on 4 November 2022 appears to be outside the legal limits of police action.
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