Athens, Greece — Greek police are probing the perplexing death of a 57-year-old homeless man found outside a well-known restaurant near Omonia Square, after employees allegedly moved his body to mislead authorities.
The incident came to light two days ago when police received a report of a man lying dead on a central Athens street. Officers arrived to find an elderly man, unconscious and bloodied from a head injury, according to protothema.gr. The restaurant owner initially told police the man had fallen outside, suffering a fatal injury after losing his balance. However, security footage soon contradicted this account.
The video, aired by Mega TV’s Live News, revealed two employees—identified as Syrian nationals—carrying the unconscious man out of the restaurant in broad daylight and leaving him on the pavement. The footage also showed them mopping the interior afterward. Confronted with the evidence, the owner and employees revised their story, claiming the man had entered the restaurant, slipped while heading to the basement bathroom, and sustained a fatal injury. They admitted to moving him outside and cleaning up to avoid liability.
Speaking to newsit.gr, the owner insisted he was absent during the March 24 incident, returning only after a call from his staff. He claimed they moved the man outside “so he could breathe,” unaware he was already dead, and mopped the floor because “we are a restaurant.” He described the victim, a Romanian national known locally as a drug user, as a familiar figure in the area.
Police arrested the owner and the two employees, exploring all possibilities, including whether the man was pushed during an attempt to eject him, leading to his fatal fall. Passersby reportedly alerted authorities after witnessing the employees abandon the body on the street.
The investigation continues as authorities unravel the circumstances behind this troubling case in one of Athens’ bustling pedestrian zones.