While it may seem hyperbolic, it’s unfortunately not the case. The neo-liberal debalkanization of Greece has become exhausting. The descendants of the those who collaborated with the Nazis, and are out of touch with the everyday lives of most of us within these precarious lands, have their hands firmly grasped onto the strings.
They mock America’s fascist narratives and push for the same “quality of life policing” and “law and order” doctrine that defines the current fascist era, all the while frolicking through their offices of comedic corruption and villas of excess that stem from the precarity of the rest of us.
However, as we write this, we realize, this is the case across the world. Variations of it, of course, but still a similar situation of varying degrees. In addition to this, the hubris of those in power here is as viscous as it is obnoxiously unfounded, however, on par with the standard it seems, when compared to so many around the world pulling the strings these days.
While there is so much to focus on, and so much to explain, we feel many who read this will be able to relate to the heinous normalization processes by those who want the worst for the world being done here via relentless judicial repression, which seems to be the case nearly everywhere.
Despite that, for the sake of integrity, it’s critical that we constantly engage in solidarity to learn from each other’s struggles and preserve our revolutionary communities and bonds. These are victories in and of themselves we can tangibly grasp onto, even if they don’t always leave us smiling.
Solidarity is as critical as ever, not only for the importance of such an action and any element of self-preservation is, but because times continue to be unprecedented, and we all know this; we being everyone across the world seeking liberation rather than a society dictated by domination, exploitation, and an unrelenting ugly death cult.
Below is an interview with members of the “Solidarity Assembly for Imprisoned Fugitives and Persecuted Fighters/Combatants” in Greece,plus the statement of a member of the “Squatted Community of Koukaki,” ((https://en.squat.net/tag/koukaki-squats-community/)) giving some context and updates on the state of repression happening in Greece, with regards to the anarchist movement in particular.
As we already said, there is so much to say, but for this June 11th day of International Solidarity with Long-Term Anarchist Prisoners, we wanted to share a glimpse of what is happening with the anarchist movement in Greece, to further foster international solidarity.
Solidarity is our weapon!
All we have is us!
-Anarchists
Could you introduce yourself and the project you’re involved with?
We are members of the “Solidarity Assembly for Imprisoned Fugitives and Persecuted Fighters/Combatants.” Our group is an anarchist assembly, in the sense that it functions with the principles of self-organization and without hierarchy. We are also open, and have met publicly every week for the past seven years.
Our aim is to provide political support to comrades that find themselves in the hands of the state, and to elevate the various battles that take place in the courts and prisons against false indictments, abuses from the guards, or for general political solidarity.
We strive to make the demands of those inside the prisons known and to show the inherent connections they have with struggles that take place in other social areas. We also try to put a stop to the repressive mechanisms the state uses against the anarchist movement, via political texts, fliers and posters, but also by planning direct actions and demonstrations.
We understand that in 2024, a comrade was lost, Kyriakos Ximitiris, due to a tragic accident in Athens. This also resulted in the arrest of others, who now have been taken to trial. The trial has become known in local media and by many around the world as the “Ampelokipoi case,” with some of the defendants recently being acquitted and released, and some convicted and sentenced to many years in prison. Could you go into some more detail about what this case was about, what happened with the loss of Kyriakos, and the arrests, prosecution, and recent verdicts that followed?
The Solidarity Assembly was one of the main support structures that was involved in the “Ampelokipoi case” (https://thefinalstrawradio.noblogs.org/post/2025/01/26/the-ampelokipoi-case-repression-anti-repression-in-greece/), with Kyriakos being a member of the assembly up to the point of his death, and Marianna Manoura (https://darknights.noblogs.org/post/2025/03/31/greece-that-which-gives-meaning-to-life-gives-meaning-to-death-marianna-m/) and Dimitra Zarafeta continuing to be members to this day, from inside prison.
As such, it was very important for us to conserve the memory of Kyriakos Ximitiris, show solidarity to all the prosecuted comrades, and build a general political wall of solidarity for struggle, armed struggle, and the choices some of our comrades made, and continue to make.
Kyriakos was a dear comrade and friend. He was active in many parts of the movement. He actively demonstrated revolutionary solidarity with political prisoners, engaged in anti-imperialist and pro-Palestinian demonstrations, was active in the anti-gentrification movement in Exarchia, plus the anti-fascist movement in general.
He had also chosen to participate in armed revolutionary struggle. It was this choice that led to his tragic death, at an apartment in Ampelokipoi (neighborhood in Athens), where an explosion took place under unknown circumstances. An explosion that seriously injured his comrade in the movement and in life, Marianna Manoura (M.M.), and prompted the anti-terrorist unit to devise a non-existent terrorist group, arresting, apart from M.M., their friend and comrade Dimitra Zarafeta (D.Z.), and three other comrades: Nikos Romanos, Dimitris, and A.K.
The loss of Kyriakos and the subsequent hospitalization and imprisonment of M.M. were grave incidents for the anarchist movement in Greece and abroad. The deeply divided anarchist movement of Athens came together, after many years, to grieve our fallen comrade Kyriakos, and to support M.M. D.Z. and the other three arrested in the case.
The movement tried to deal both with the difficult issue of the political defense of armed revolutionary struggle and critically worsening state repression. There is a large discussion about what went right and wrong in all this, but as the everyday mass solidarity gatherings in the courts showed, Kyriakos’ death, and the Ampelokipoi case in general, remain issues that deeply concern us all.
From the beginning, M.M. assumed responsibility for helping Kyriakos find a place to process explosive materials that would be used for the revolutionary cause. She made clear there was no terrorist organization and that the other four detained people had nothing to do with the case. D.Z. declared that the accusations by the state against her were false and that she was persecuted politically, as an anarchist, comrade of Kyriakos and M.M., and as a person that ideologically supports the choices and actions of Kyriakos. Dimitris, Nikos R. and A.K. all declared their innocence and refused any connection with the case.
The actual clues the state provided as evidence, were either false or completely insufficient even by their standards: none supporting the existence of a terrorist organization. The state presented some normal exchanges of apartment keys and phones between friends and partners relating to D.Z. and Dimitris, and claimed a partial fingerprint of Nikos and A.K. were uncovered, among many others, on a plastic bag containing a gun.
Nevertheless, all the accused were detained for 17 months and in the end, M.M. and D.Z. were convicted as guilty, resulting in a 19-year prison sentence for M.M. and 8 years for D.Z., with the large sentences, especially for M.M., being mainly due to the application of the anti-terrorist legislation. Dimitris, Nikos Romanos, and A.K. were declared innocent by the court and released.
What happens now with the convicted defendants in the Ampelokipoi trial? Is there an appeal? Will the sentences given be served in full?
M.M. and D.Z. were recently transferred to the women’s prison of Thiva, since Korydallos prison (where they were during their pre-trial detention) is only for those awaiting trial. This is an expected, but, bad development, since they are now much further away from the movement, their families, and their friends.
An appeal has already been made, but the second degree court is not expected to take place sooner than one to two years. Depending on how the secondary court goes, we will then be able to make a better estimation for the actual time our comrades will have to serve in prison. In general, it is standard that three to four-fifths of the actual sentence will be served, but with many legal factors potentially affecting both the actual sentence and the percentage of it that they will need to do inside the prison.
Also, the main factor that makes these computations difficult, is that since the final days of the previous SYRIZA administration in 2019, the penal and correctional codes are constantly being changed and revised, making it very confusing to determine how each law will affect each individual case.
Could you explain why the Greek media reported differently on Nikos Romanos than it did with the other defendants in this trial? Was this an attempt to divide and isolate?
We do not know if there was a clear intention or plan from the state in this aspect. The comrade, Nikos Romanos (https://freedomnews.org.uk/2025/08/20/all-of-a-sudden-the-streets-were-ablaze/), is an important figure, not only for the anarchist movement, but for large parts of the Greek Left too. His close friendship with Alexis Grigoropoulos, whose murder by a cop in 2008 inspired the biggest insurrection in Greece’s recent history.
Additionally, his hunger strike in 2014, made him a point of reference for the broader “progressive” movement. This creates a societal pressure that is taken into consideration by the state, for better or worse.
Another aspect that makes his situation different is, in our view, his proclaimed innocence in contrast with M.M. and D.Z.’s positions in court. This allowed some parts of the Left, who has long ago lost its ability to defend any political choice and stance the state deems illegal, to support him. This, in conjunction with the lack of evidence against him, forced some of the more left-leaning media to try to be a bit more “objective” or considerate of his case.
Does the outcome of this case, and the way it proceeded have broader implications about the Greek’s state approach to repression, and specifically repression when it comes to anarchists?
We do not think that there was anything really new in how the Greek state handled this case, when considering the recent years of escalated repression. Merely from an explosion and two anarchists in the place where it happened, the Greek state concluded that there was a “terrorist organization.” A pure fabrication by the state. As for the other members of the supposed “terrorist organization,” they accuse close comrades and friends, or known individuals of the movement.
This is a common method of the Greek anti-terrorist unit, with the courts following suit, and engaging in an almost routine pattern: the first-degree court is usually harsher, convicting at least some of the accused for terrorism with big – at least by Greek standards – sentences, and the second degree courts refine the sentences or acquit. There are of course notable exceptions in this routine.
One thing of particular importance in this case are the very high sentences the court handed down, especially for Marianna. This was a direct result of the court convicting both M.M. and D.Z. for all the charges, including the one concerning “the supply of a terrorist organization with arms and explosives.”
An accusation that even the prosecutor argued could not logically be proven for a member of said “organization.” This will be a very important legal and political battle for the second degree court, in order to make the sentences of our comrades lighter.
What is the 187a law? And is the Greek state conducting more “conspiratorial-like” prosecutions due to lack of evidence? Such as fabricating narratives and creating groups, as they did with the “comrades” case (https://itsgoingdown.org/the-comrades-conspiracy-an-interview-on-the-greek-states-use-of-pretrial-conditions-to-persecute-anarchists/) which was recently dropped after five years of being dragged through the courts. Is this law, or are the broader times in Greek society creating more opportunities for repression without evidence, and something happening more and more often than in past decades?
First of all, the essence of this law is political. It is the law the state uses to repress the armed struggle movement as much as possible. With specialized courts with no jurors, harsher sentences, and an ever growing list of crimes that can be prosecuted with the 187a law, the state aims to suppress and silence the “internal enemy”.
Having this main goal in mind, the anti-terrorist law is intentionally indeterminate, giving both the anti-terror unit and the courts all the legal leeway to modulate each case and fabricate evidence as needed.
The law was a direct byproduct of the 9/11 attack in the USA, and was infamously used first against an accused member of the N17 (17th of November) revolutionary organization.
Since then, the Greek state continuously revises and expands it per the European anti-terror law standards, like the 129b (https://darknights.noblogs.org/post/tag/129b/)in Germany.
Even though it began as a law with which to target people who entered armed revolutionary struggle, in the last years it is used more and more to target a wider range of practices.
Are many of these cases postponed or are charges often fabricated just to drain the movement of resources and time, or use trauma and pre-trial detention as a way of punishment without imprisonment?
The broader understanding of these issues vary a lot. First of all, the postponement of cases is a reality in Greece for as long as anyone can remember. Many times it is a choice of the defendants, so that the trial gets some distance from the actual event it concerns, aiming to disincentivize the state to use the trial in a retaliatory way.
Other times, they get postponed because the prosecution does not wish for the trial to happen. In general, courts are overburdened with cases, and even though ND (New Democracy) has taken measures to force them to close up cases faster, at the expense of course of what the state calls “due process” and the “rights” of the accused, this is not always feasible from the judges side.
What is undoubtedly true however is that the state uses a number of other tools, with pre-trial detention, restrictive pre-trial conditions and court bonds being the most prominent among them, to make the living conditions of the accused very difficult. And it is also true that since ND came back to power, these tools are becoming stricter and used more often.
As for fabricated cases, it has been used to target people of interest to the authorities (Nikos Romanos’ involvement in the Ampelokipoi trial is a case in point). We cannot say if this is a broader plan to deplete the movement’s resources, there is certainly a difference of opinions on how organized or not the state and police are, as well as the interest it has for long-term operations against the anarchist movement. But what is again certain, is that with the new repressive laws that ND passed that are more aligned with European standards, along with their main “zero-tolerance for crime” slogan that brought them to power, the legal consequences of political activism and low level crime, are becoming harsher by the day.
We have comrades accused of forming a criminal organization to throw colors at government buildings, people appearing many times a month to the police department because they were arrested in a demonstration, and, at the same time, the prison population is at a breaking point due to petty thefts and small debts in broader Greek society.
There is a hunger strike by two comrades for the Squatted Community of Prosfygika (https://freedomnews.org.uk/2026/04/28/prosfygika-under-threat-we-need-to-escalate-the-struggle/), which is a large squatted complex in the center of Athens. Can you explain these hunger strikes? We usually have understood hunger strikes of people imprisoned as a last resort of protest. Are these hunger strikes a sign of critical times and heightened repression?
We are not the appropriate assembly to talk about this issue, as there are open assemblies to stop the eviction of the Prosfygika community (https://en.squat.net/tag/prosfygika/). From our part, we see the squatting movement is an integral part of the anarchist/anti-authoritarian movement and this is why the state is fixated in destroying it with constantly augmenting intensity this last decade.
Aristos and Souzon (two hunger-strikers acting to resist the demolition and development of the Prosfygika squat complex)(https://www.anarchistfederation.net/hands-off-prosfygika-eviction-threat-sparks-hunger-strike-and-mass-mobilization/), know this better than anybody. That’s why they put their life and their bodies in this struggle, so it is shown in every perspective that they mean what they say, what they believe, and what the community means to them. As an assembly, we support the struggle to defend Prosfygika, and we stand in solidarity with our comrades.
Has surveillance and repression increased in recent years? Has the state readjusted its priorities, the COVID lockdown play a role in this, or is it a reflection of the times?
As we said before, repression is increasing swiftly in the last decade, coming fast into pace with the European standards. Cameras, drones, and cops are everywhere, with new divisions of police appearing all the time (e.g. for public transportation, courts, universities, immigration etc). Low-level crime and political activism are also punished harshly, and the scope of the anti-terrorist laws augments with every new piece of legislation. And all that amid the augmented repressive capabilities the A.I. frenzy may provide in the future, being just around the corner.
COVID is one of the big issues that divided our movement. Despite the different takes on how this whole issue was perceived, that we cannot get into here, it is evident that the lockdown was at the very least a perfect opportunity for the state to take complete control of public space and to normalize a very broad sense of repression to the society at large. The safety of the population has supposedly become the number one priority, with the police always somehow being the answer to every issue.
The discourse that was mainly produced in the COVID period, but is also enhanced by the far-right and aggressively neo-liberal government of ND, tries to overcome the historically deep mistrust of the Greek society towards the state. Furthermore, the rate of economic and legal scandals has risen to an extreme. The state presents itself as the only thing standing between the population and chaos. Demonizing anyone that disagrees, or “poses a threat to the society.” The same arguments are of course used more and more in the new war-era we have entered, to justify the military equipment upgrades and the direct involvement of the Greek state in the NATO-Israel mass killings and bombings in Palestine, Lebanon, and Iran.
House raids for small charges seems to be frequently be in the news, is this something happening more often in Greece? And is it an attempt at “fishing” (trying to get information any way possible on anarchists through opportunism) or gathering information, or a sign of increased repression goals by the state?
House raids have always been a tool at the hands of the state and for good reason. The pressure and fear it puts on the people whose privacy is attacked, along with circumstantial evidence and connections they can find inside our houses, is obviously beneficial for the police. And it also creates a financial pressure on the movement, since in most house raids, the police steal our electronic devices. Again, it is a matter of discussion how well planned or thought out these raids are, especially when they are not organized by the anti-terrorist unit.
Nevertheless, we should mention some recent developments that, if they are left to become normality, will certainly have a grave impact on the movement. On one hand, we have seven comrades who are suspects of forming a criminal organization that destroys government property due to some colors (graffiti) that had been thrown many months ago at a government building in Kipseli (neighborhood in Athens). Usually, when you are a suspect, the cops call you at the General Police Department of Athens to give a statement, under threat that if one does not comply, they will be accused. A threat that is usually empty. This time however, the cops decided to enter the houses of our comrades, in some cases by force. Another case is of three comrades that are accused for an attack with hammers and colors (graffiti) to a court building. Again, even though there was evidence collected at the scene which, by the cops standards, would otherwise be more than enough to proceed to trial, the cops again decided to enter to their houses.
So many resources going into repression by the Greek state, including a new huge push into also expanding the Greek military, and tightening conscription laws? What do you think is behind this, and is this a broader tendency in the EU at the moment? And is this all coming at the expense of broader Greek society? If so, how?
More or less, you answer the question by pointing out some major issues of modern societies all over the world. The war is everywhere, closer to us (as “Europeans”) than ever after WWII, and it seems that it will continue. The whole Europe is re-armed, as the program informs us.
In Greece, this is a constant situation due to the construction of tension between Greece and Turkey at the eastern borders and the Aegean sea. That’s how Greece has ended up being one of the most financially contributing countries in NATO (Greece is one of the top defense spenders in NATO, consistently spending around 3.1% of its GDP on defense, which is among the highest in the alliance.). The goal of the Greek state, as is every state’s goal, is to have a society that believes in it and is ready to fight for the nation and the bosses. Maybe, this explains also the repression in Greece to many parts of the movement.
It is obvious that Greece is still in economical crisis (although the government pretends otherwise), so the large amount of money that is spent on the military and cops, is missing from other societal needs that are not as interesting to those in power. For example, we have understaffed hospitals and universities, lacking basic provisions and in many cases close, deteriorating infrastructure in public transport that leads to constantly more frequent “accidents”, with the most grave one in recent times being the Tempi train crash (https://freedomnews.org.uk/2025/01/31/greece-mass-protests-demand-justice-for-train-crash-victims/).
There is also an extreme problem with the cost of housing, as well as with the cost of basic needs and products. Life in Greece is difficult, and it will continue to be so unless we come together and fight back.
After seven years of the university asylum that originated following the fall of the Junta in the 70s being fully lifted by ND, what affects have become clear as a result of this? What are some of the ways this has directly impacted the anarchist movement or broader radical communities in Greece?
Again, this is an issue where political opinions vary. On one hand, it is true that it is quite easier now for police to enter university grounds to hunt people after clashes at a demonstration, or to break an occupation, either from students or political groups. But there is an argument that this is a more general issue that is only emboldened by the lifting of the asylum.
Since the right-wing government of New Democracy returned to power in 2019, the state wages an attack on the movement and its symbols, that is much more broad than the anarchist movement. The remnants of the Left have proven to be completely incapable of protecting the political and symbolic grounds they had won after the fall of the Junta in 1974. To put things in perspective, anarchists always through Molotov cocktails from inside the universities and the police always had the legal right to enter the universities when this happened, even with the asylum in place.
One can argue that the main thing that kept it from doing so was not a misconception from the public about a piece of legislation (that obviously would and could not cover Molotov cocktails being thrown at government workers), but rather a strong and broad political and ideological support that the clashes with the police had, which was merely represented and symbolized in the idea of the university asylum. A support that was now put into question by the ND government, unfortunately rather successfully.
Regardless of the analysis each of us has on this issue, the problem it has caused to the anarchist and student movement is big. Apart from taking a strong political tool from the students’ hands, which is the occupations of their universities, it allows for repressive measures to be applied inside the universities with ease, with cameras, barriers, and private security already in place. Plus talks about a special police force for the universities are in an advanced stage (even though the first attempt to put them into place failed).
This also impacts the anarchist movement, that uses universities for assemblies and various kinds of political events, like events to raise money for persecuted comrades and various political causes or talks about other political issues.
Last year, the Trump administration placed multiple revolutionary groups allegedly in the EU on its terror-watch lists. Crazily equating anti-fascists and anarchists with fundamentalist right-wing groups such as ISIS. Two of these alleged groups were claimed to originate in Greece. Has this judicial intimidation against anti-fascists and anarchists from the US regime influenced Greece?
These moves haven’t made a noticeable impact here in Greece until now. Of course the USA has always offered a paradigm for repression in Greece, but for now only extreme far-right groups make these analogies.
Are there any other cases going on or awaiting trial you would like to mention?
There is a number of cases affecting many comrades, from defending squats, to solidarity actions with imprisoned comrades, and clashes with the police either in demonstrations or in Exarchia. We select, almost arbitrarily, a few that have or might have a very serious impact to the implicated comrades.
The most recent big case was the eight arrests that happened on the 11th of May (2026), with our comrades being accused for various robberies. The case is still open, so the accusations (and maybe even the incriminated people) are not finalized. Six of the eight comrades are in pre-trial detention in various prisons in Greece, while two were let go under restrictive provisions.
There is also the case of the comrades Yannis Karatsolis and Sofoklis Toutziarakis (https://www.firefund.net/freedomgkaratsolisandstoutziarakis), where the state accused them for forming a criminal organization with five other people in order to perform various robberies. Even though the criminal organization did not stand in court, with the other people getting acquitted, Y.K. and S.T. got the extreme sentences of 21 and 23 years respectively. The aim is now to pressure the second degree court, that will take place in October, to reduce these vindictive sentences.
Finally, we have the arrests from the first big demonstration after the mass murder of immigrants by the state, when the Hellenic coast guard sank a boat with more that 500 immigrants close to the town of Pylos (https://actforfree.noblogs.org/2023/06/16/on-the-murder-of-the-migrants-in-the-shipwreck-at-pylos-peloponnese-greece/). The court was set to take place in May, but got postponed for the spring of 2027.
How can people show international solidarity? Is there any funds or ways people can donate to anti-repression efforts you’d like to point out? What are some good ways to stay up to date with repression happening in Greece? Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Every move, intervention, text, poster, or post could make people here feel the solidarity. The continuation of political struggle in every place is inspiring for everyone. And of course, even though the Greek state is not a big one, it has targets of economic or political interest in many countries, which is a traditional way of the movement to show international solidarity.
For financial support, the main fund is Tameio (https://tameio.net/), that provides economic support to political prisoners monthly and which is over the years one of the most important structures of the anarchist movement in Greece. In addition, there are many specialized funds for specific cases, usually to cover the legal costs of arrested comrades. These funds can be found on websites like athens.indymedia.org and firefund.net.
Finally, in order to stay up to date with what is happening in Greece, the counter-information options are sadly not very good. The main website that the anarchist movement uses to publish its positions and actions is athens.indymedia.org, which is in Greek, and does not formerly offer non-Greek translation (you can use a translate-friendly browser to navigate it). In that sense, probably the best way to keep in touch is by direct contact with assemblies and comrades that participate in the movement.
For ways to reach out and contribute to Tameio: the Solidarity Fund for Imprisoned and Persecuted Revolutionaries, visit:
tameio.net
Active FireFund Campaign to consider donating to:
“Regarding the appeal trial for an act of solidarity during the last hunger strike of our anarchist comrade G. Michailidis (https://itsgoingdown.org/an-urgent-call-for-solidarity-and-needed-funds-to-battle-escalating-repression-in-greece-an-interview-with-tameio/)”
https://www.firefund.net/amfissaintervention
The following question was for a member of the “Koukaki Squatted Community” Defendants. Their statement and update follows.
Around the same week as the Ampelokipoi case’s conclusion, members of the “Koukaki Squatted Community” were also facing a trial, however, it was postponed. Could you go into some details about this case, and its implications for the broader anarchist movement?
Our project (https://en.squat.net/tag/koukaki-squats-community/) consisted of three anarchist squats that acted as a revolutionary community in the Koukaki neighborhood of Athens. The reclaimed spaces helped to foster multiple assemblies, various organizing efforts towards the broader anarchist movement, and local mutual aid projects. Our community also offered not only housing to members of the squat’s assembly and comrades, but also houseless individuals, refugees, struggling migrants, trans people rejected by their community, and those who are deemed “excluded” by capitalist society.
The houses acted as a sort of intentional community, eliminating the need for work to pay rent, so that all our efforts could to resistance and organizing. With this, it brought together an array of multiple revolutionary individuals, who were committed to both rejecting property, and ensuring that having “free housing” via liberated space would allow us to better further the struggle for liberation.
Unfortunately one comrade (https://itsgoingdown.org/on-the-passing-of-anarchist-comrade-dimitris-armakolas/) was lost in 2018 while hanging a banner in solidarity with political prisoner Marios Seisidis (https://anarquia.info/greece-updates-news-about-anarchist-prisoners-marios-seisidis-and-haris-mantzouridis/). Their death resulted from the general commitment that defined many of those involved in the Koukai squats. But while we all still face trial, and the endless bureaucracy and opportunism of the state, I do want to just mention our lost comrade, Dimitris, who was an incredible and passionate comrade, to give recognition, and mention that his struggle lives on in the commitments and actions of us today.
The squats were violently evicted in a coordinated intense assault by the Greek state. One of the three spaces “Panaitoliou” was re-squatted twice, with “Matrozou,” (https://nosquatterinprison.noblogs.org/2026/05/04/another-crack-in-the-concrete-solidarity-to-the-comrades-facing-trial-on-april-30th-in-the-matrozou-case-in-athens/) re-squatted three times.
Three of my comrades and I have been convicted of the Panaitoliou squat defense, but will likely not face jail time as a result. However, we continue to have court obligations, and the constant stress of not knowing our fate, and continuing to feel that are movement and life is more restricted while still being out of prison, takes its toll.
However, with the final defense of Matrozou involving a more intense effort of resistance and defense, multiple comrades of mine remain on trial facing small charges, but potentially years in prison if the state gets its way.
Such escalation of repression is the result of our case coming from struggle and resistance to defend our revolutionary community, while having had pushed, through our actions, to inspire the broader anarchist movement, at a time period that the state tried to destroy all the squats (2019). The state wants to not only get revenge for our courage, but to make an example of us. In order to intimidate resistance, and prevent the militant defense of squats.
The state is using our case as a case to instill fear in the movement, to make it clear that simple squatting or defending spaces in a revolutionary way will not go unpunished. They are trying to have us, think again, question ourselves, lose our will. They are dragging us through the courts with accusations against us of using less extreme resistance than that which brought imprisonment prior to this escalated campaign by the ND administration against the squats that brutally started in 2019 when they came to power, as a symbolic war against symbols of the anarchist movement. This is a balance of revenge and example of current Greek state-opportunism and symbolism.
There are five comrades on trial for militantly defending Matrozou, who are facing two misdemeanors, which resulted in an original sentence of 77 months in prison. However, the defendants were not set to prison, as the sentence was suspended, and imprisonment will depend on the outcome of the current appeal.
The prosecution (https://freedomnews.org.uk/2025/07/09/athens-squatters-face-prison-after-years-of-repression/) is demanding that that the full sentence is served, and this is what the current trial is about. Facing such a sentence for two misdemeanors, is something legally unprecedented in Greece. Specifically with regards to squatting in particular, while the misdemeanor charges are not directly related to squatting, but as the act of defending squatting itself.
The essential means of struggle to defend a squat, while not of a felony nature, are being made an example of. A process of enhancing the standardized punishment against anarchists engaged in the creation and defense of squats. The reality is, that the two misdemeanors would typically not bring imprisonment, however, because it is related to the act of defending a squat, they will try to make an example of the comrades to demonstrate that the action or crime itself is not what the prosecution seeks to repress, but rather the motivations and revolutionary desires behind the actions of the defendants. Essentially, criminalizing their goals or ideas, even more so than the actual crimes their convicted of.
So, in the lead up to the most recent trial, multiple demonstrations took place across Greece for the Matrozou defendants. However, the appeals trial was postponed until November 9th. This is the second postponement of the second trial of the appeal.
Not only is this a process of exhausting the defendants, it is also to continue to postpone the trial with hope that waves of solidarity leading up to the trial will fizzle out in the future. The state seeks to isolate the defendants, and hope in the future that solidarity is weakened and public attention is fewer, and then prosecute to the fullest extent possible. This is a strategy of prolonging prosecution to seek moments when the movement seems quieter, out of the headlines, or maybe overwhelmed by so much other repression.
Also, the momentum building up to trial, was substantial (https://actforfree.noblogs.org/2025/12/05/update-from-the-three-days-of-solidarity-event-and-the-court-of-appeal-of-of-the-koukaki-squats-community-matrozou-45-in-athens-greece/), and this type of solidarity organizing does not come without efforts. So to continue to force the defendants and the movement behind them to have to constantly act in a defensive anti-repressive approach rather than engage in offensive revolutionary organizing, is not only to drain our resources, but to seek to take our energy.
The two misdemeanors are related to paint that was thrown on the cops, which damaged their uniforms and allegedly inflicting bodily harm against police. All Matrozou defendants face the same charges, and are accused by eight police.
During the first court, the police didn’t show up, and that was the reason for postponement (December 2025).
The case is of such political interest to the New Democracy regime, that the original prosecutor is not only a member of New Democracy, and in the law firm of Plevris (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanos_Plevris), she actually also ran for parliament. She failed, but she is an aspiring ND politician. And after the original court, due to bureaucratic reasons she wasn’t able to continue in the appeals court. However, due to her repulsive fascist obsession (she also defended the cops who faced neglect charges for doing nothing to save the murdered queer activist Zackie Oh (https://unicornriot.ninja/2022/athens-police-acquitted-in-death-of-queer-activist-zak-kostopoulos-zackie-oh/) ) with this case, and in its symbolism in particular, she continues, free of charge, and without a formal legal position in the court, to escort the police who show up as witnesses, and guide them on what to say.
She even went on television and actually said the defendants went straight from court to prison, despite the appeal preventing imprisonment, on a mainstream national morning talk show. Purely showing once again, this case is to make an example. However, the hearts and revolutionary integrity of all the defendants remain intact. And while we lost our housing years ago, our community lives on in our revolutionary relations and committed support to one another as we overcome repression.
