“We’re not afraid of you”: Rally at the Hippocrates Hospital over the death of Vagia Nestora

With the slogan «We are not afraid of you,» friends and officials of New Democracy and ONNED They gathered early Thursday afternoon (July 2) at the Hippocrates Hospital, on the occasion of the The Death of Vaya Nestora, following the arson attack that took place early Wednesday morning (July 1).

The protesters were wearing T-shirts bearing the rally's slogan, while at the hospital entrance—where Vaya Nestora took her last breath—people left candles and a photo of her.

“Violence in any form is unacceptable”

Among those in attendance at the rally were the secretary of the New Democracy Political Committee, Konstantinos Kyranakis and the New Democracy lawmaker, Dimitris Vartzopoulos.

In his remarks, the Konstantinos Kyranakis “He was on the same page” as what he had said in recent days and concluded by saying:“We are sending our own strong message to those who have hurt us. We are not afraid of you. New Democracy and its ideals will never die.”.

“This is clearly an act of terrorism. You don’t have to be a lawyer to understand that these individuals intended to kill, and that the murder resulted from a clearly aggressive act that they must have known could lead to that outcome. ”Therefore, they are murderers,”, he told the emakedonia Dimitris Vartzopoulos.

The president of KEDE and mayor of Ampelokipi–Menemeni was also present outside the Hippocrates Hospital, Lazaros Kyrizoglou, who noted: “We unequivocally condemn the incendiary, murderous terrorist attack against New Democracy officials that took place simultaneously at different locations throughout our city. Violence in any form is unacceptable, let alone murderous political violence. We extend our deepest condolences to Afroditi Nestora and her relatives on the loss of her mother, Vagia, who is an innocent victim of this cowardly attack.”.

As a reminder, Vaya Nestora was being treated on a ventilator in the Intensive Care Unit of the «Ippokratio» Hospital, with severe burns all over her body, but despite the doctors' efforts, she succumbed to her injuries.

Η Aphrodite Nestora, The daughter of Vagia Nestora and a New Democracy politician was transferred from Hippocrates Hospital to Papanikolaou Hospital, as she is suffering from extensive first- and second-degree burns on her hands and feet. She is currently being treated in the Burn Unit at «Papanikolaou,» where Doctors are prioritizing treatment for the burns on his hands, and, as has been reported, he is breathing on his own.

The politician's father, Panagiotis Nestoras, who is being treated at the Pulmonology Clinic of the Hippocrates Hospital due to respiratory problems he experienced following yesterday's attack, He is expected to be discharged tomorrow, Friday (July 3).

In addition, one of the residents of the apartment building where the attack took place is being treated at the same clinic and is also expected to be discharged tomorrow.

The fourth resident was discharged from the Pulmonology Clinic but was transferred to the Coronary Care Unit at Hippocrates Hospital due to cardiac problems she is experiencing.

Vaya Nestor's funeral will be held next week

According to the information of ThessPost.gr, Vagia Nestora’s funeral is expected to take place next week in Kozani, because Afroditi Nestora is unable to walk. She needs to undergo rehabilitation, and once she feels better, she will travel to Kozani with her father to say her final goodbye to her mother.

A Chronology of the Arson Attacks

As a reminder, Three attacks involving gas canisters occurred early Wednesday morning (July 21) in Thessaloniki, at the homes of New Democracy officials and politicians.

More specifically, the homes of the chairman of the New Democracy Thessaloniki Executive Committee, Zisis Ioakeimovich, the former member of parliament for Thessaloniki B, Savvas Anastasiadis, and the political figure for Thessaloniki A, Aphrodite Nestora.

In the building with an entrance hall at 20 Gravias Street in the Charilaou neighborhood, in Thessaloniki, a fire broke out around 4:30 a.m. in two parked cars. Seconds later, flames and thick black smoke engulfed the apartment building. Aphrodite's mother, Nestora, who was seriously injured, was rushed to the «Ippokratio» Hospital with extensive burns covering 80% of his body surface area; however, a few hours later, she breathed her last.

The other two attacks took place in the Pylaia and Toumba areas. All three attacks occurred in about 17 minutes. 

Manhunt for the perpetrators

Meanwhile, officers from the Counterterrorism Unit, with the assistance of colleagues from other agencies in Thessaloniki and Athens, ‘They are combing‘ the co-capital, and there is optimism that they will soon find the perpetrators of the deadly attack. The death of Vaya Nestora has changed the course of the investigation, with law enforcement authorities now treating the case with even greater seriousness.

Based on an analysis of the video footage captured by security cameras, the authorities have concluded that involvement of at least three people which are shown with hidden features to approach the buildings where the three consecutive attacks took place.

Two people are riding on a scooter and one of them gets out and puts the gas canisters in place. One A third player is leading the way and may be controlling the area, also on a scooter.

All of this has come under close scrutiny by Hellenic Police officials so they can determine where the perpetrators started and where they ended up.

The audiovisual material in question is important not only for locating them but also for identifying them, since It is considered impossible that their features remained concealed throughout the entire period before and after their attacks. It is also important to determine whether or not the involvement of any other individuals.

They also know which direction to focus their investigations in, and it is possible that these individuals have been of interest to them in the past.

Counterterrorism officials believe that these specific targets were chosen because the perpetrators apparently wanted to strike at political figures who are members of the ruling party, but who would also be low-risk targets for them, since they had no guard.

Certainly, it is estimated that Their goal was not to cause death but to intimidate, however, this has happened, and the consequences for the perpetrators will now be extremely severe, as they are responsible for the death of Vagia Nestora, the injury of her daughter, New Democracy politician Aphrodite Nestora, who suffered burns to her limbs, her father, and two other residents of the apartment building who experienced respiratory problems.