Seven males in Greece had been sentenced to life in jail on Wednesday following their conviction for the brutal homicide of a 19-year-old soccer fan.
This heinous crime, which despatched shock waves by means of the nation, served as a catalyst for a rigorous crackdown on football-related violence.
The incident, which occurred in February 2022, concerned a bunch of 12 defendants who had been concerned within the vicious assault that unfolded within the northern metropolis of Thessaloniki.
Last week, all 12 perpetrators had been discovered responsible, and through Wednesday’s sentencing listening to, seven of them had been condemned to spend the remainder of their lives behind bars.
The remaining 5 people obtained sentences starting from 19 to twenty years in jail.
Alkis Kambanos, the sufferer, succumbed to his stab wounds close to his own residence, whereas two others sustained accidents.
The assailants had set out on a mission to focus on rival followers indiscriminately, trying to find them in an space adjoining to the stadium utilized by the Thessaloniki soccer membership Aris.
While the sentences delivered a way of vindication for Kambanos’ grieving household, the ache of their irreparable loss remained palpable.
“This is a vindication for our family, but my boy is never coming back,” expressed Melina Kakoulidou, the bereaved mom, addressing reporters outdoors the courtroom.
The attackers, armed with knives and picket bats, arrived on the scene of the tragedy in three autos.
The defendants, aged between 21 and 26, had been apprehended by authorities after diligent police work efficiently traced one of many automobiles concerned within the assault.
The homicide ignited a wave of initiatives to fight fan violence in Greek cities.
Thessaloniki’s two primary rival golf equipment, Aris and PAOK, supported a number of campaigns, together with charity matches, in a unified effort to deal with the difficulty.
As a results of the incident, supporters’ golf equipment voluntarily imposed attendance limitations throughout away video games whereas legislation enforcement performed raids on quite a few supporters’ golf equipment, a few of which had lengthy been suspected of organizing assaults.
“There were 12 men who were armed and filled with hatred. They attacked unarmed people. The sentences they received were not excessive; they were fair,” commented Yiannis Poultsidis, the lawyer representing the sufferer’s household, emphasizing the simply nature of the penalties.
Aristidis Kambanos, the daddy of the late soccer fan, recounted the harrowing expertise of going through the defendants all through the emotionally charged six-month trial.
“There were many difficult moments during the trial, especially listening to the testimony from the medical examiners,” he shared. “We were not seeking the annihilation of Alkis’ killers. A crime was committed, and they were punished.”
Source: www.dailysabah.com
