Racism Rises in Greece a Year After Police Kill Another Roma Teen
Christos Michalopoulos, a Roma 17-year-old, was shot and killed by Greek police last year while in his car. Michalopoulos was driving with three friends in rural Greece on Saturday night, November 11, 2023. Michalopoulos allegedly ignored a police signal to stop at 11:15 p.m., prompting a police chase which ended with the vehicle being immobilized in Leontari, Boeotia. OPKE (special Greek police suppression and crime prevention units) officers approached the car. Moments later Christos was dead, fatally shot by an officer.
Reports indicate that the unnamed OPKE officer who fired the fatal shot was 41 years old at the time. Parts of his testimony were quickly leaked to the media: he claimed his gun discharged while Christos allegedly tried to grab it, asserting he perceived elements of danger in the 17-year-old. As usual in the Greek media, leaks from police sources were reproduced by several outlets as fact.
“At that moment, as his moving body approached my right hand, likely out of fear due to the proximity of the gun, he made the fatal movement with the outer part of his palm. Bringing his hand near the barrel, he pushed my gun forcefully, causing it to discharge as this movement activated the trigger, without me ever pulling it.”
“After I opened the driver’s door, I saw a man without being able to discern his age, yet with elements of danger. This was later corroborated by findings in the car search. (…) In the open pocket of the passenger door was a large screwdriver, unrelated to the victim’s age and daily activities.”
According to the official forensic examination, Christos’ hand was reportedly approximately 10 centimeters away from the gun barrel and never touched it.
An audio recording from the time of the shooting reveals that only seven seconds passed between the officer opening Christos’ car door and the sound of the gunshot.
A 16-year-old eyewitness — Michalopoulos’ brother, who was a passenger in the car — stated that Christos was attempting to exit the vehicle with his hands up.
Cover-Up Attempts by the Greek Police
A few days after the incident, Michalopoulos’ family’s lawyer filed a complaint regarding attempts by the Hellenic Police (ELAS) to tamper with key evidence. The allegations include:
- The ambulance service was never called.
- Christos Michalopoulos was transported to Thiva Hospital in the car he had been driving, instead of preserving it at the scene for forensic examination. The driver’s seat was also cleaned before this occurred.
- The police officer responsible for the shooting was left at the scene to “guard” it.
- The crime scene was washed with water before forensic services arrived.
- Michalopoulos’ hands were washed.
The officer was not immediately arrested as is typically required in such cases. Instead, he was detained at his home 14 hours after the killing.
Following his testimony before the prosecutor on November 16, the officer was released with a travel ban as his only restriction.
The Hellenic Police issued its first statement on November 12, stating:
“OPKE officers approached the vehicle to conduct a high-risk inspection, during which the driver sustained injuries from a gunshot. The circumstances are under investigation. (…) The responsible Prosecutor has been informed, the officer involved is detained, and a case file is being compiled against him, while an internal administrative inquiry has been ordered for disciplinary investigation into the incident.”
Four days later, on November 15, ELAS issued a second statement placing the officer on administrative suspension:
“Following our November 12 statement concerning the incident in the Boeotia area, it is announced by the Hellenic Police Headquarters that the officer, against whom a case file was compiled, has been placed on suspension.”
Government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis referred to the incident as isolated, directing further inquiries to the judiciary. Then Minister of Citizen Protection, Giannis Economou, alluded to issues of delinquency and disobedience, which he suggested increased the “chances of tragic outcomes.”
Reactions From Roma Communities and their Representatives
Upon learning of Michalopoulos’ fatal shooting and the release of the officer, Roma communities across Greece expressed their outrage. Tensions flared in areas including Halandri, Menidi, Aspropyrgos, Megara, Thiva, and Aliartos.
In a statement, the Panhellenic Confederation of Greek Roma declared:
“Another devastating announcement. We have no more words to express our anger and grief. (..). Yet another weapon was turned against a Roma, under circumstances still ‘under investigation.’ How much more investigation is required for Roma deaths before we as a state and society decide to confront racism and bigotry preventatively and courageously, so that no more families grieve? A hard lesson (Nikos Sampanis 2021) that became a repeated lesson (Kostas Fragkoulis 2022) and is repeated once more today. Always affecting Roma. We sincerely hope this is the last and will work intensively toward that goal. The Panhellenic Confederation of Greek Roma ‘ELLAN PASSE’ expresses its heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones of the child and stands by them.”
Where the Case Stands a Year Later
Despite the family’s appeals, no effort has yet been made by investigative authorities thus far to examine the alleged tampering with evidence. On June 14, 2024, Thiva Prosecutor Vassilis Vassilakis-Paragios requested the accused officer be tried in the Mixed Jury Court of Thiva on charges of manslaughter with possible intent and unauthorized use of force with a lethal discharge against Christos Michalopoulos.
Institutional Racism and Escalating Repression of Roma Communities
One year after the fatal shooting of Michalopoulos, a clear strategy of tension by Greek police against Roma settlements and communities across Greece is noticeable. Many believe this is a governmental diversion tactic aimed at further targeting and criminalizing Roma communities.
Militarized raids by special police units such as OPKE and EKAM, the Special Suppressive Counter-Terrorism Unit, are labeled as operations “to prevent crime and enhance public safety.” Such raids have occurred in areas including Fyli, Nea Zoi and Sofo in Aspropyrgos, Gerakas, Ano Liosia, Spata, Volos, Argos, and more.
This campaign is legitimized by misinformation originating from conservative mainstream media and further amplified by far-right outlets and social media. A misinterpretation of an ELAS report led to the false claim that Roma were responsible for 86% of thefts and burglaries in Greece in 2022. In fact, the 86% figure refers specifically to the involvement of Roma in domestic criminal organizations committing these crimes, while only 4% of thefts and burglaries were confirmed to involve organized crime. The report provides no data on individual Roma perpetrators or those acting outside organized groups. This hasn’t stopped the spread of a racist narrative based on deliberate distortion of statistical data.
A police union representative, relying on these false statistics, recently stated on television:
“We’re going to bring them blood, we’re going to bring them blood regularly. There will be OPKE and EKAM operations inside their homes; we will put a stop to these things.” He further expressed a desire for the construction of more prisons specifically for Roma people.
Related: Roma in Greece Face a History of Exclusion, Exploitation and Racism – April 11, 2022
Gerakas and the Racist Resident Committees
Under the pretext of electricity theft, one of these militarized police operations took place on September 5, 2024, in a Roma settlement in Gerakas, an eastern suburb of Athens where a racist residents’ committee has teamed-up with media and police to exploit the broader anti-Roma sentiment and demand more police presence in the community.
In a statement, the association openly made racist remarks:
“A group/race, which, for the most part, does not pay taxes, does not follow the laws, and lives mainly on welfare, is trying to impose fear on us when its demands are not met.”
In response, the organization New Horizons for Greek Roma, active in the settlement, highlights:
“When we refer to ‘electricity theft,’ we must bear in mind that, under today’s living conditions, electricity is a social good essential for human survival. The established settlements in the country are not electrified, and this is a longstanding issue that the Roma themselves are the first to want resolved.”
In a letter to the municipal council, the Roma organization states:
“This results in our community being scapegoated, fostering a hateful image of Greek Roma among some citizens, ultimately making us scapegoats for anything that happens—or does not happen—in our town. Recently, a member of this association threatened, during a confrontation with the community, to ‘take his shotgun and shoot us’ and ‘set the Roma settlement on fire.’”
Gunfire in Nea Zoi, Aspropyrgos
In Nea Zoi, Aspropyrgos, the most violent raid in recent months occurred in the early morning of September 8. Greek riot police MAT and OPKE units conducted an unannounced invasion under the pretext of noise from a celebration attended by some families in the settlement.
Police used tear gas, stun grenades, destroyed personal property, and physically assaulted residents. Witnesses reported gunshots, evidenced by the bullet casings found at the scene. The attack left behind damaged cars, houses, injuries, and collective trauma affecting both children and adults.
At a press conference held by the “On the side of Roma” initiative and settlement residents, victims of the attack stated, “It was like we were at war; they came to kill us.”
Sofo Settlement and the Targeting of Nikos Sampanis’ Family
The father of Nikos Sampanis — a Roma teenager killed by Greek police on October 22, 2021 by at least 36 bullets during a car chase — was recently targeted for prosecution over what they deem to be fabricated charges.
On October 30, 2024, three years after his son Nikos was killed, Giannis Sampanis was given a seven month suspended sentence by the Greek judiciary. According to the family a police raid had taken place in their settlement on Monday, October 28, 2024, with various police units (OPKE, MAT, DRASI) entering the area under the pretext of searching for a specific Roma individual. Following minor tensions, they said that tear gas was used, one of which landed inside the Sampanis family home. With young children and infants nearby, Giannis Sampanis says he threw the tear gas canister out of the house. Police claimed then that he threw a stone at them. Giannis Sampanis was swiftly convicted in a courtroom filled with solidarity supporters, while the prosecutor’s office and judges showed blatant anti-Roma bias with their ruling.
The officers involved in Nikos’ killing remain free. They are charged with the intentional homicide of Sampanis in a calm mental state, as co-perpetrators and serial offenders, and for the attempted murder of two of Nikos’ friends, minor Roma boys who were with him in the car. A trial date has yet to be set.
On the third anniversary of his killing, family attorneys filed a complaint with the Supreme Court Prosecutor regarding the ongoing delays by the Piraeus investigative judge in Sampanis’ murder case. They demanded that the supplementary investigation ordered in May 2023 be prioritized.
Coincidentally, just days before Giannis Sampanis was arrested by ELAS, the preliminary investigation into the accused officers officially began. This is slated to be one of the largest trials in Europe with seven police officers accused of murder.
As stated in a release by the Roma-Balame Solidarity Network:
“The message is clear to all of us who have followed the case and the trial of Giannis Sampanis from beginning to end. Giannis Sampanis and his family are under state pressure to stop speaking out about the cold-blooded anti-Roma killing of Nikos, precisely as the trial of the state killers approaches.”
Cover image features friends and classmates of Christos Michalopoulos as they hold a gathering on Nov. 16, 2023, outside the Thiva courthouse, where the police officer who killed him give his testimony to the investigating judge. Graffiti on the street reads: “Christos, you’ll see, that you will be vindicated/justified.” Photo contributed by Yegor Halva.
For more from Greece, see our archives.
Related Reporting:
Tensions Explode in Greece After Police Kill Roma Teen One Day Before 14th Anniversary of Past Police Killing – Dec. 22, 2022
Police use Private Database to ID & Racially Profile Roma in US – Nov. 21, 2022
Calls for Justice for Nikos Sampanis Renewed – Nov. 2, 2022
Greek Police Kill Teenager as Racism, Violence Against Roma People Spikes – March 25, 2022
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