Augustinos Dimitriou: The unprovoked torture of a Cypriot student by the Hellenic Police

on the evening of November 17, 2006,
around ten thirty,
Cypriot student Augustinos Dimitriou,
where
studied at the Department of Economics and Business Administration at the Vocational Training Institute of Thessaloniki,
He takes a walk with a friend and passes by Syntagma Square near the ABC Hotel.
………………………………………..
A short while ago, the traditional march for November 17 had come to an end.
and
some incidents have been reported
………………………………………..
Now that everything is over,
The police have gone to that location and are searching for a student with long hair and a backpack who was spotted before the incidents.
………………………………………..
as soon as they see the Cypriot, they say
«natos»
«this is it»
………………………………………..
At first, a plainclothes police officer approaches him and starts beating him up for no reason.
It whetted his appetite so much that he called out to two other colleagues who were approaching, and they too
and surrounded him so he couldn't leave
………………………………………..
then one of the new guys starts punching him in the face
and try to trip him up so he falls,
but the child did not fall
………………………………………..
Meanwhile, other police officers gather,
not even ten minutes later, they take him a little further down and start beating him all together
………………………………………..
meanwhile,
They are all police officers, but in plain clothes, and no one knows what is going on.
Is it robbery?;
Is it a settling of scores between gangs?;
no one knows
………………………………………..
the child has fallen down from the heavy wood
and it suits them even better to beat them up
because
now they are kicking him in the face and body
………………………………………..
In fact, a police officer stepped on the child's leg with the intention of breaking it.
(as the judges later stated in court)
………………………………………..
Meanwhile, all this is unfolding in the presence of the Thessaloniki police chief.
and
with passersby watching
………………………………………..
at some point they take a break from the beating,
but it's a little bit
………………………………………..
just to catch their breath
………………………………………..
After a while, they catch the young man, about a dozen of them, most of them in plain clothes, and take him away.
A little further down and the fighting starts again.
………………………………………..
the child cannot understand what is happening and screams
«help»
«help»
………………………………………..
A police officer goes behind him and punches him in the back of the head, and the child falls into the flower bed.
………………………………………..
Meanwhile, the fallen child kicks a parked motorcycle with his foot.,
which falls and makes a noise, and together with the child's screams,
Several passers-by approach the spot, including some professors from Aristotle University.
………………………………………..
people shudder at the sight of the bloodied young man
and shout at the police to let him go
………………………………………..
then some police officers push and swear at some of the teachers
………………………………………..
but people have started to gather and they can't take it anymore
………………………………………..
comes a convention of autonomy,
lift up the young man who couldn't stand upright,
They handcuff him, put him in the car, and take him to the Thessaloniki police station.
………………………………………..
After four whole hours, someone saw the young man's condition in the detention center and finally took him to Genimatas Hospital.,
where he ended up staying for 12 days...!!!
………………………………………..
At first they guarded him, but at some point they realized the absurdity of the situation and stopped guarding him.
………………………………………..
the young man had fractures in his face (nose)
and injuries all over his head and body
………………………………………..
felt faint,
intense feelings of anxiety and fear, and visual disturbances.
………………………………………..
in Athens immediately became a topic of discussion, and the head of the Hellenic Police,
Anastasios Dimoschakis,
had described the incidents of that day as «of limited local interest.»
and had stated
that
«The restraint and composure of the police was proverbial.».
………………………………………..
and his statements were so successful,
where
the New Democracy party, which was in power at the time,
took down Dimoschakis as soon as he finished his career,
candidate for the European Parliament at the beginning
and then
regular member of parliament for Evros who has already been elected
………………………………………..
Meanwhile, the Thessaloniki Police Headquarters had also issued a statement at the time,
where,
claimed that the student «first fell onto a parked moped and then onto a flower box that was there, resulting in his injury.».
………………………………………..
Fortunately, there were television cameras at the scene that captured the incident.
and
following a lawsuit filed by the young man and his teachers
but also something lawyers,
went to court where it was clearly proven that the young man was not injured because he fell and hit himself on the window sill,
but
because police officers tortured him in front of the director
………………………………………..
after 10 years when finally,
the courts have ruled,
The young man still had psychological problems.
was being monitored by a psychiatrist at the hospital in Paphos
………………………………………..
The court sentenced two police officers to two and a half years in prison each, with a three-year suspended sentence.
and €300,000 in compensation to the young man
………………………………………..
caution
from our own money
i.e.
one beats, another pays
………………………………………..
His case was mentioned in an official US report on human rights.

Author of the article:

Yannis Golias