A fan incident that preceded earlier in Oreokastro, where “someone chased some of ours” was the trigger for the fierce fan attack that took place against Alkis Kampanos and his group, as reported by the first defendant, out of a total of 12, opening the cycle of apologies in the Hall of the Mixed Jury Court of Thessaloniki for the much-criticized murder episode of February 1, 2022, in the area of ​​Charilaou.

Denying his active participation in the crime and repeating that “we didn’t go to kill” but only “to chase, to hit someone”, the 24-year-old described the timeline of the murderous – as it unfolded – attack, apologizing for his involvement in “this tragic story,” as he said. “I wish I could go back in time, do everything differently, not be in groups and links, but it’s too latehe said starting his apology.

Unraveling the tangle of events, the defendant – the driver of the first of the three cars that drove towards Harilaou, stated at the beginning that he is a fan of PAOK and that since evening he was at the indoor stadium of Pylaia (“Palataki”), where he watched a volleyball match of his team.

He said he started from the link located on Palaion Patron Germanou Street and added: “I took some flags and went to see the match.” After the confrontation, he returned to the association, where 4 to 5 of his co-accused were.

“There was talk that something happened in Oreokastro and that some people chased some of our people. We discussed going to Harilaou to make a fan episode. To chase, to hit someone, but not to do what happened. So that moment came to us. It was everyone’s decision” he noted and added that he knew some of the remaining 11 more, others less, and the last one not at all.

“We were looking for fans of Mars”

“We were going slowly, looking for groups of Aris fans,” he said, pointing out that he was at the head of the three-car march because he knew the area of ​​eastern Thessaloniki better. Asked what weapons they had with them, the 24-year-old replied that “everyone took what they wanted” and that he himself was unarmed.

Describing the moment they spotted Alki’s group, he said: “Passing by a take-away coffee shop, we unfortunately saw Alki’s group. I stopped, turned on the alarm, the vehicle behind also stopped, the third one swerved. Three people got out of my car and went to the spot. I didn’t go down, I was waiting to see what would happen. No one got out of the back car. Then three more came from the third car.”

He then described the attack as he perceived it, as he said he did not have a clear line of sight from where he was. “There was a conversation, they (the victims) were asked what group you are from and they replied: ‘Arianara…’ The manura has begun. I saw kicks and punches. A person from Alki’s company ran towards Plastira, the 4th defendant chased him. I went to get out of the car, but turned around and got in because I hadn’t put the handbrake on. The second time I went out, I saw a friend of Alki’s walking by. I got to the middle of the road but I went down,” he said.

At that moment, as he apologized, he saw some people coming up from Papanastasiou Street and in combination with the whole scene that took place (“I heard voices, cursing, moaning”) he “boiled”. “I shouted let’s go, let’s go” he added.

Asked by the court to state what each was holding, he said he saw the 9th accused holding a sickle, the 11th a pickaxe, the 2nd a knife and the 3rd a hammer.

“We got them…”

During the depositions at the interrogation stage it emerged that as they were in the car and leaving the scene, someone said “we got them”, with the 24-year-old explaining that it was a fan report that “we imposed on them”.

“We didn’t understand the seriousness of the situation.” He was informed about the death of 19-year-old Alkis a few hours later, when he went to work.

“In the morning I saw it on my mobile when I opened it. I “chilled” when I read it. I did not speak to any of my co-accused. I wanted to tell my parents but the police caught me and arrested me” he described.

His testimony continues, with the district attorney taking the floor by asking him questions.