The prosecutor’s proposal of the Headquarters of the Mixed Jury Court of Thessaloniki will hear today the 12 defendants who they have been on trial for 4.5 months for the murder of 19-year-old Alkis Kampanos and the wounding of his two friends, after the “blind” fan attack that froze the Panhellenic crowd, in the early hours of February 1, 2022, in Harilaou, Thessaloniki.

Prosecutor Kyriaki Kliaba is expected to develop, in legal detail, her proposal to the judges of Criminal Court of Thessaloniki, evaluating all the evidence, witness statements and apologies. According to information, her proposal it will exceed 400 pages, while as she announced, the auction will last 10 hours. “You can’t remember everything by heart, nor do you want to forget anything,” said Ms. Kliaba during the last court session, calling on all the actors in the trial to “arm themselves with patience.”

Afterwards, the floor will be taken by civil litigation and defense attorneys to be placed on the content of the prosecutor’s proposal, a process that is expected to take days. The trial is expected to conclude in July with the pronouncement of the judges’ verdict – a month before the end of the 18 months of the defendants’ pre-trial detention.

The timeline of the trial

The evidentiary process began on January 18 and ended on May 11 with the last defendant’s plea. During this time, 31 meetings were held and more than 60 witnesses were examined, 26 from the prosecution and at least 35 from the defense.

The most important – so far – events and snapshots of the months-long process:

January 18

Under strict security measures and in the suffocatingly full hall of the Mixed Jury Court of Thessaloniki, the trial for the brutal crime against 19-year-old Alkis Kampanos begins (with procedural issues). The lawyers are legalized – the number of defenders exceeds 25 – and the trial dates are announced by the end of March. In her statements to dozens of media representatives and in response to a question about what would be a fair decision for her, Alki’s mother emphasizes: “Life sentences should really become life sentences.” Fans of Aris have gathered outside the Thessaloniki Courthouse to honor the memory of the deceased young man, chanting “immortal”.

January 23rd

The jurors are drawn, the indictment is read and the defendants are called one by one to make a brief statement. All admit that they were at the scene of the disputed incident but deny that they came into contact with Alki. They express their sorrow for his loss and their condolences to his parents. The civil suit seeks to expand the charges to the felonies of criminal organization and aggravated weapons possession. For this reason, he submits an oral complaint so that the minutes of the trial are forwarded for evaluation to the Prosecutor’s Office of First Instance.

January 24th

Alki’s father Aristides Kampanos opens the cycle of the examination of the witnesses. It speaks of “pre-planned, organized and cold-blooded crime”, stressing that the accused “wanted to kill”, while using the last words of his deceased son: “don’t hit me anymore.” Immediately after, the 19-year-old’s mother testifies, who calls the 12 young defendants to look her in the eyes and asks them the question: “what did my leventi do to you?”. “If they had a drop of truth they would look me in the eyes because in my eyes they would also see Alkis”, says an emotionally charged Melina Kakoulidou, underlining that her child experienced a “brutality”.

January 26

Alki’s close friend and victim of the same attack testifies. “They were cold as killers. I froze when I saw the scythe. They only stopped when some people came upstairs, otherwise I would be dead too,” says the 21-year-old eyewitness of the murderous episode.

February 6

Another friend of the 19-year-old is taking the witness stand. This is a 20-year-old student who was hit with a sickle but managed to escape, otherwise “I might have had the same fate as Alkis”, as he typically says. “They were aggressive. I couldn’t make out faces, they were wearing lemons, hoods, full face masks. They were holding knives, scythes, sticks, clubs,” the young student points out.

February 9

A police officer of the Immediate Action, in whose hands Alkis Kampanos died, testifies in court. Describing the scene of the crime, when he arrived at the scene, he says characteristically: “it was as if we were entering a slaughterhouse”.

February 9, 13, 14

The trial continues with the marathon examination of a police officer of the Crimes Against Life Department of Thessaloniki, which lasts a total of 3 days. He describes the attack against Alki and his group as a “crude attack”, speaking of a “blind” fan attack. It refers to an earlier fan-motivated episode that gave rise to the incident in question. Videos from the crime scene (amateur and security cameras) are shown in the courtroom. The tension between civil action and defense lawyers causes the intervention of the president of the court, who calls them to honor the memory of Alkis.

March 14

“The sacrifice and the memory of Alkis to banish the darkness from the city”, says the president of A.S. Aris Lefteris Arvanitis, testifying in court. On the same day, the renaming ceremony of the street where the 19-year-old was murdered on Alcibiadis Kampanou Street (from Th. Gazi) takes place.

March 20 – 21

Medical examiner Leda Kovatsis, who performed the autopsy on Alki’s body, takes the witness stand. It confirms its scientific findings, according to which the young man’s death is due to “a confluence of fatal injuries to the lower extremities and craniocerebral injuries.” “He suffered a martyr’s, slow and torturous death,” he emphasizes, identifying at least five different instruments – weapons that were used: three different lifting and cutting ones, as well as at least two different thrashings. Alki’s bloodied clothes, scythe and karabit knife are shown to confirm if they match the wounds on the lower extremities. At the beginning of her testimony, the coroner urges the parents of the deceased student to leave the courtroom because of the “cruelty” of what will be heard.

March 28

The trial continues with the process of readable documents (the number of which exceeds 200). During the screening of edited video provided by a defense attorney, Alki’s parents erupt, with his mother shouting: “What are you looking at? You were. All 12″. Testimony of defense witnesses begins.

March 30

Mothers of the accused, testifying one after the other, apologize to Alki’s parents for the involvement of their children in the bloody episode. “I don’t dare to look the parents in the eyes, nor is an apology enough for the immense pain they are experiencing. I tried to write a letter to express my pain – but where? I thought of going to the child’s grave – but I am not worthy to go…”, are the characteristic words of one of them.

April 4, 6, 11

Medical examiners Katerina Apostolidou, Panagiotis Leon and Dimitris Galenderis testify as technical advisors on behalf of defendants (as the case may be for the 2nd, 9th, 10th and 11th). The first and the third express disagreements regarding the conclusions of the forensic report prepared by their colleague Leda Kovatsis and in particular regarding the causes of death. Mrs. Apostolidou does not consider the craniocerebral injuries suffered by the victim to be fatal, conveying her scientific opinion that his death came from hemorrhagic shock, a result of the hit to the femoral artery. Similar is the content of the opinion signed by Mr. Galenderis, who emphasizes that “we cannot have five causes of death”. Mr. Leon also seems to distance himself from the forensic conclusion, according to which “the fatal blow” was the one on the right thigh that caused the rupture of the femoral artery. “Whoever hit the child on the right thigh, led to his death,” he notes characteristically. Ms. Apostolidou complains that she received threats and insults after her testimony. The parents of Alkis Kampanos file a lawsuit against the three medical examiners – technical consultants for false testimony and fraud before a court.

April 25

The cycle of apologies opens with the accused who was arrested first and was the “key” person in order for the Police to reach the tracks of the other involved persons – drivers and passengers of the three cars in total that moved in a procession from the association of PAOK fans “Thyra” 4″ towards Harilaou. “I wish I could go back in time, but it’s too late,” he said, stressing that he didn’t get out of the vehicle because the parking brake was released. Regarding the motives, he states that they did not intend to kill, but to hunt, to make a fan episode, a claim that his co-accused will repeat in their apologies.

April 27

“I am the one who hit Alkis in the leg,” admits the 2nd defendant. It is the first and only confession by someone that he came into physical contact with Alkis. According to his confession, he stabbed the 19-year-old in his right leg with a kitchen knife, severing the femoral artery and causing his death. He admits that he also hit Alki’s best friend. His confession does not seem to convince the district attorney: “I don’t believe you”, she tells him and characterizes him as a “vindictive victim” because he took the killer “on himself”. The civil lawsuit refers to a “fairy tale” and “badly acted theater”.

May 4, 5, 8, 11

In the wake of the above confession, the remaining defendants are successively apologizing. All of them deny that they touched Alkis, nor can they give an explanation for the rest of the wounds found on his body and who caused them. Some (7th, 9th, 10th and 11th) admit that they beat his two friends – as the case may be, with punches, “karabit”, sickle and cleaver. Some completely rehash their inquest apologies, especially regarding the involvement of their co-accused, and some insist they never got anywhere near the killer. Everyone is apologizing to the parents of the deceased young man, expressing their condolences. The court declares the end of the evidentiary process.

June 2

The scheduled public prosecutor’s hearing is postponed for a few days. The court is assembled but the prosecutor informs the trial actors that she is not yet ready.