European Court Condemns Greek Police for Brutal Beating and Torture of Roma Men in 2016

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled in favour of three Romani men who were subjected to severe physical abuse during their arrest and detention by Greek police in October 2016.

In the case of Panayotopoulos and Others v. Greece, the Court awarded the victims a total of €52,240 in damages for the abuse they endured, which included beatings, torture, and racial discrimination.

The three applicants, represented by the Greek Helsinki Monitor, claimed that the Greek authorities not only failed to properly investigate the incident but that the police violence they experienced was racially motivated. The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) also intervened in the case, highlighting that such treatment was part of a broader pattern of institutional racism within Greek law enforcement.

“This judgment is of immense importance as it outlines in detail the unacceptable handling of the case by both the police and the judiciary,” said Panayote Dimitras of the Greek Helsinki Monitor. “It is significant that the Court found the impunity in this case to be racially motivated, reinforcing the need for substantial reforms in how complaints of police violence are investigated in Greece.”

ERRC President, Đorđe Jovanović, also welcomed the ruling, stating, “Nearly a decade later, justice has been served. This case illustrates the extreme brutality and the lack of proper investigation, which reflects a wider issue of racist policing in Greece. For Roma and other marginalized communities, police violence is a tragic reality, and police impunity remains prevalent.”

Incident Details

The brutal incident occurred on 8 October 2016, when Greek police pursued a car carrying the three Romani men, which eventually collided. After fleeing the scene and seeking refuge on a balcony, the men were arrested and subjected to violent treatment by the police. The victims reported being kicked, punched, and insulted, including racial slurs. One of the men was particularly injured, requiring a lengthy hospital stay for serious internal injuries.

The men denied resisting arrest, claiming that the police were trying to force confessions and information about an escaped driver through torture. One of the victims was transferred to intensive care with a heart attack and additional injuries.

Court Findings

The Court ruled that the Greek authorities violated several articles of the European Convention on Human Rights, including the prohibition of torture (Article 3) and discrimination (Article 14). It found that the Greek investigation into the incident was inadequate, failing to properly address inconsistencies in police testimonies and neglecting to examine key evidence, including the severity of the injuries sustained by the victims.

The Court awarded two of the applicants €20,000 each, while the third received €12,000 for their suffering. The ruling highlighted that the investigation had failed to question the police version of events and did not give adequate consideration to the injuries caused by the officers.

Racial Motives and Impunity

The applicants argued that the violence they suffered was rooted in racial prejudice, a claim that the ERRC supported in its intervention. Although the Court acknowledged that the police ill-treated the men, it did not definitively conclude that racial bias was the primary cause of the violence. However, the Court did find a violation of the prohibition of discrimination due to the lack of an effective investigation into the potential racial motivations behind the attack.

The applicants also faced further unjust penalties, with two of them fined for allegedly making false complaints against the police officers, while the representative from the Greek Helsinki Monitor was not penalized. This further compounded the failure of the authorities to address the racial elements of the case.

A Call for Reforms

In light of this case and others like it, both the Greek Helsinki Monitor and the ERRC have called for urgent reforms within Greek law enforcement to combat institutional racism and ensure accountability for police misconduct. Jovanović emphasised, “Such flagrant human rights abuses should never occur in an EU Member State, and they must end. Structural reforms are necessary to eliminate the entrenched racism in policing in Greece.”

(Source: European Roma Rights Centre)