All 105 Arrested Hooligans Remanded in Custody Pending Trial in Greece

All 105 hooligans who were arrested over the deadly incidents ahead of the AEK-Dinamo Zagreb football match at Nea Philadelphia stadium in Athens on August 7 were remanded in custody after the last group of 33 defendants appeared before prosecutors on Sunday.

The vast majority are Croatian nationals, who travelled to Athens with the aim to cause violence, as the Croatian President himself admitted in statements made on Saturday.

Two Greeks and one Albanian are also among the detained.

Hooligans jailed in 16 prisons across Greece

The first prison warrants were issued for 41 of them, who will be jailed in 16 different prisons in Greece pending trial for their alleged involvement in the attack which resulted in the murder of Greek AEK football fan Michalis Katsouris.

The charges faced by the defendants range from setting up a criminal organization and premeditated murder to illegal possession and use of weapons, AMNA notes.

Of the total detained, 103 were arrested shortly after the incident, while the 104th was hospitalized under police guard and the 105th was arrested days later as he tried to leave Greece on a bus.

Greek media are reporting that Hellenic Police have the moment of victim Katsouris’ stabbing captured on CCTV, which will help investigators identify the killer(s).

Greek Judges and Prosecutors reply to Croatian President’s remarks

The Greek Association of Judges and Prosecutors issued a statement in response to the remarks made on Saturday by the President of Croatia, Zoran Milanovic, about the Croatian defendants’ judicial treatment.

“The statements of the President of Croatia constitute a direct intervention in the work of Justice of a member state of the European Union and an insult to the institutions of our country,” the Association says.

“The protection of fundamental legal interests, such as those of life, physical integrity and health and social peace is a primary obligation of a State, which ensures the orderly functioning of societies and the European acquis,” the statement continues.

“The Hellenic Republic has a tradition of respecting human rights and the Judiciary applies the laws of the organized Greek State which have been established within the framework of the Constitution and the Law of the European Union,” it concludes.

Brutal attack outside stadium

According to Greek media reports, a well-coordinated group of around 150 to 200 Dinamo supporters managed to enter Greece by road on Monday, August 7, despite the prohibition on fan movement from Croatia.

They descended on the area around the stadium of AEK, in the Athens suburb of Nea Philadelphia, on the night before the UEFA Champions League qualifier between AEK Athens and GNK Dinamo Zagreb.

“They had wild moods…They hit everywhere, whatever they could find. The event lasted half an hour…they had clubs, they were organized,” one of the eyewitnesses told Greek channel OPEN TV.

Besides the 29-year-old victim who succumbed to stab wounds, 10 more people were injured in the attack, four of whom remained in hospital.