In March 2023, reports and audio-visual material were published regarding multiple incidents of excessive police force and the use of chemicals against protesters and media workers during strike actions and demonstrations over the March 16 Tempe train crash in 2023 (indicatively: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8).
Regarding the series of incidents of in question, the Hellenic Union for Human Rights (HLHR) sent an open letter to the Minister of Citizen Protection, Takis Theodorikakos, calling on the government to disclose, first, what immediate measures have been taken to address these incidents and, second, whether the police officers captured on video acting in violation of their duties have been identified, and third, whether the said officers have been removed from their positions pending the outcome of the disciplinary and criminal proceedings against them, as well as, fourth, whether an order had been given by the police authorities to disperse the demonstration with the extensive use of tear gas and flash bang grenades.
The Journalists Union of Athens Daily Newspapers denounced the incident, where a flashbang grenade exploded next to colleague Nikos Christofakis who was covering the gathering as a journalist, resulting in his being diagnosed with 55% hearing loss. The Union added that, unfortunately, this is not the first time that the indiscriminate use of flash grenades by police forces has resulted in the injury of colleagues, which apart from endangering their physical integrity is an obstacle to the exercise of the journalistic function and, by extension, to the informing of citizens.
Despite this evidence, the Greek Police Force did not refer in its statement to the use of excessive police violence by its forces, but spoke of the “use of necessary means” in order to repel masked protesters who launched “fierce attacks” with Molotov cocktails, stones and other objects.
In a state governed by the rule of law, the actions and functioning of the police authorities must be governed by certain principles, including the principle of legality, the principle of proportionality, the prohibition of 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 exercise of their duties are regulated, inter alia, by Presidential Decrees 538/1989, 141/1991 and 254/2004.
Although the police may use force in order to enforce the law and protect human rights, 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.
In view of the above, it should be noted that in the case in question the behaviour of the police authorities (unprovoked use of force, use of chemical and flash grenades, arrests, attacks on demonstrators and media workers) appears from the evidence of the publications and complaints to be – in a repeated and systematic manner – outside the legal limits of police action.
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