Active police officer who was in the stands as a fan among the organized supporters of Olympiacos supporters’ section on the night of the incidents outside the Renti stadium, where police officer Giorgos Lyggeridis, instead of rushing to assist his colleagues in locating the perpetrators, was in a hurry to take off his cap so as not to… be implicated.
It should be noted that his brother, an active-duty firefighter—and indeed a member of the Corps’ most elite units—is a defendant in the trial, as gunpowder was found in his hands and, according to the indictment, he is alleged to have fired a shot!
Yesterday’s witness testimony, in which he stated, among other things, that he saw hooded individuals coming out and a fire in the restrooms where they were burning clothes, while he himself, shortly before getting into the police van bound for Metagkion and because he was afraid of being targeted, made sure to throw away the hood he was wearing, which made a strong impression on the bench, with Prosecutor Ilias Zagoraios strongly criticizing him.
“I don’t understand you”
Prosecutor: Your brother was a firefighter at the time, and you were part of the prime minister’s entourage—don’t you realize how important it is to throw away something you were wearing at that moment? Give me a plausible explanation as to why you, as a police officer, felt panic?
-Witness: There was a lot of commotion; I was also in a state of panic and had to get into the police van.
-Prosecutor: I understand why the fans did it—they wanted to hide evidence—but what were you afraid of? Were you worried they might lump you in with those people?
-Witness: Well, I’m 30 years old and a police officer—were they going to arrest me?
-Prosecutor: Still, I don’t understand the rush to throw away the hood…
The witness was thoroughly grilled by Antonis Mammis, one of the lawyers for the Lyggeridis family.
-Lawyer: Mr. Witness, didn’t you feel the need to go to your colleagues and say, “I was there—how can I help?” “I’m a police officer; let’s track down the perpetrator or perpetrators who injured a colleague,” and the only thing you cared about was figuring out how to get out of there?
-Witness: So I wouldn’t be targeted by the fans around me.
-Attorney: Why would you be targeted? You had a history of this; there were colleagues around you—why didn’t you offer to help identify the perpetrators? I’ll ask again.
-Witness: They were all wearing hoods.
This was followed by a pointed remark from the presiding prosecutor, Ilias Zagoraios: “You don’t seem all that afraid to go into the organized fan section, where incidents usually occur—so why did fear get the better of you only after you told your colleagues about it?”
Nor did it raise any eyebrows that the police officer witness concealed from the court the fact that he comes from a family of police officers!
A fan who went to the game with a friend—who is now a defendant because gunpowder was found on him— testified that he saw 20–30 people leaving the stadium and, because there was a commotion, moved his car because he feared disturbances. As he turned around, he saw the fans heading toward the police officers and shouting abusive and threatening slogans at them, while one of them was holding a very large piece of wood.
“I saw officials…”
-Chair: You say they were breaking rocks.
-Witness: Yes, I saw some people breaking rocks.
-Presiding Judge: Was there an organizer in the stands?
-Witness: Yes, and he had a megaphone and was shouting slogans. I recognized him by sight; I’d seen him before, and from a police photo I also learned his name—it was P.K.
-Presiding Judge: What did you see in the locker room after the incidents?
-Witness: There were Olympiacos officials, athletes, staff, and many police officers. I found out that a police officer had been struck from our cell phones, and I remember that in the cafeteria there were 2–3 people trying to break it.
-Chair: You’re saying you saw some people throwing their clothes away.
-Witness: Now that you mention it, I remember—yes, I saw two or three people taking off their clothes—jackets, sweatshirts—and throwing them into a gap between the bleachers and the wall; there was a gap there.
-Prosecutor: When the people were leaving the stadium, did P.K. stay behind?
-Witness: Yes, I saw him there, but I then went out to move my car and saw him again after the incidents outside the stadium, that is, about 20 minutes later, shouting at the fans, “Stop it, you idiots! Let’s get this over with and go inside.”
-Prosecutor: In your opinion, what was the cause of the riots?
-Witness: I think it was a continuation of the riots in Volos.
