The much-lauded trial for the brutal murder of 19-year-old Alkis Kampanos and the wounding of his two friends, during the blind fan attack that shocked Panhellenic, in the early hours of February 1, 2022, comes to a “curtain”.

Shortly after 9:30 in the morning, the Mixed Jury Court of Thessaloniki is expected to announce its verdict on the 12 accused PAOK fans, already temporarily detained.

Since the first meeting, in the middle of last January, until today, 47 meetings have taken place, more than 75 witnesses (accusation and defense) have been examined, about 300 documents have been read and the accused have given their own explanations for their involvement in the crime. .

This was followed by the proposal of the prosecutor of Kyriaki Kliaba who asked for guilty for all the accused – depending on the degree of their participation – and spoke of “an attack organized and planned until the last second with a common homicidal intent at the expense of all the victims”.

“I’m really sorry, we have 12 young children that it was up to them to follow a better path in their lives and not the darkness. In an “unorthodox war” victory means condemnation” were the last words of the prosecutor concluding her three-day trial.

The prosecutor’s proposal was then placed, successively, by the advocates of civil action and defense, with the latter attempting to refute the most serious indictment, which their principals are facing.

The marathon process until the end of the trial

The Mixed Jury of Thessaloniki, consisting of three regular judges and four lay judges (jurors), will read for each of the defendants its verdict on guilt or innocence and for the acts attributed to them. Defendants of those found guilty will then take the floor in order to request the recognition of mitigating circumstances (eg subsequent good behavior, sincere remorse, post-adolescence).

This process is considered important, as the final amount of the penalties will depend on the recognition of mitigating factors. It is expected to last a long time, since the defenders (more than 20 of them bought) will thoroughly develop their positions on the mitigations they will ask for.

Subsequently, the public prosecutor will submit her proposal to the court for mitigating circumstances, specifying her position for each convicted person separately. After the defense briefs, the court will retire for conference and come back to announce whether and what mitigations it recognizes.

After the “battle of mitigating factors,” the prosecutor will propose sentences, defense attorneys will re-open, and the judges will confer again, and then the final sentences will be announced.

The next procedural stage will depend on the amount of the penalties – that of suspending the execution of the penalty. Only in the event that someone/someones are sentenced to summary convictions, i.e. if they avoid the maximum sentence of life imprisonment, the judges will be asked to decide whether or not the sentence will be carried out and under what conditions until the Court of Appeal (in this case new prosecution proposal, procurement of lawyers, conference of judges).

The final phase of the process foresees decisions on other issues, such as return of seized assets, etc. After these issues have been decided, the court will declare the trial over. It is assumed that those who are convicted will appeal to be tried in the second instance.

EL.AS is planning strong measures.

The hall of the Criminal Court of Thessaloniki is expected to be suffocatingly full. On one side of the hall will be friends and relatives of Alkis, among whom his parents who attended almost all court sessions, and on the other side will sit relatives of the accused.

A.S. addressed a call for a mass gathering at the Courthouse to his members and followers. Aris also in his statement characterizes today as a “milestone” in terms of the delivery of justice for “the brutal murder” of the 19-year-old student. “Alkis was a child full of light. Let the light drive away the darkness in this city. Alkis lives” is stated in the relevant announcement.

Within the Courts but also around them, EL.AS. plans to deploy strong forces to ensure the smoothness of the process and avoid risks of tension.