Hooligans: Protected witnesses “burn” the leaders of the criminal organization

The internal hierarchy of the defendants but also the way in which the murderous attack against the MAT in Rentis, describe the three protected witnesses of the case. These testimonies, which have been included in the case file, were the key to the police investigation into the dismantling of the criminal organization of hooligans. ERTNEWS unfolds the works and days of leading members of the criminal organization, presenting typical cases of their activity.

The witness “67B” describes that the leading members of the organized and persecuted in the current investigation, had complete freedom of movement as: “We see them all together sitting down, i.e. in a place where spectators are not allowed to enter but only accredited persons and they they have a card. They also move freely in all areas of the stadiums without restriction, i.e. they enter any gate they want during the match, roam around the pitch and some of them also give orders to the organizer who conveys them to the organized fans with the duduka”.

Testifying specifically about the alleged leader of “Gate 7” and the main accused in the case, he says that he is the one who has the absolute mandate and does not hesitate to act against those who question him: “I have seen him go into the bellows at the Karaiskaki stadium. He also gives the orders to the organizer and when some people from the platform do not obey his orders, he gathers a group of his own people and they trample and beat the people who do not obey.”

According to the witness, several of the alleged leadership group were inciting incidents and giving orders for attacks on supporters of other groups. As an example, he mentions the attack against OFI friends in January 2023 shortly before the start of the match between Cretans and Olympiakos at the Karaiskaki stadium: “He used a pen flare, which accidentally hit an Olympiakos fan who was accompanying two or three children. When the fan reacted, he went and hit him.”

The episodes outside the closed “Melina Merkouri” were organized with a specific plan and determination.

The hooligans moved in a convoy from Neo Faliro to the closed “Melina Merkouri” in December 2023, as can be seen from the photo frames. They are photos collected by the police officers of the Sports Violence Department and they reveal that a total of 10-15 motorbikes and four cars made up the convoy that carried the explosive molotov cocktails, naval flares, sparklers and other munitions. According to information from ertnews, the cars were all rented with the munitions inside the cars with the two-wheelers next to them, effectively creating a security cordon.

The third protected witness describes the moment when the hooligans were ordered out of the gym “67F”: “At the end of the 1st set I saw a crowd on the court and I saw people wearing helmets, masks, full face and knuckle gloves. There were about 80 people and they came out some from the left and others from the right. While everyone was getting dressed, I saw a man dressed in black with covered features talking on his cell phone and shouting “let’s go”.

According to the witness, those who participated in the incidents were trying to eliminate evidence that could incriminate them: “As soon as it was learned that we would be brought in by several people from the stable, they started jumping into the stadium. Some vandalized the canteen, causing damage and taking products, and some set fire to the toilets, burning clothes.”

The rest of the photos show the route followed by the group of hooligans from inside the stadium to the point where the MAT squad was located, as well as snapshots of the fierce attacks with improvised explosive devices.

THE Apostolos Lytras defendant’s lawyer, said: “It is not possible now to talk about a 165-person criminal organization. As for my own principal, the 16-year-old, he had absolutely nothing to do with the episodes. In fact, he didn’t leave the field at all.”

The police force seems to have always been the target of hooligans who act with a plan and thirst for blood. The protected witness “67E” describes an incident where they were looking for squads to unleash his inhumanity: “On December 5, 2022 at SEF, I heard that Olympiakos fans dressed as Santas and because there was no squad at the stadium, they went to the TV station SKAI to find a squad to attack , as they did by throwing Molotov cocktails and naval flares.”

The Minister of Justice George Floridis speaking to Sky, he said: “The investigation will now take things further because a police investigation cannot reach the absolute investigation, it documents, it gives it to the justice system and it starts it, it continues it.

Witnesses identify specific individuals of the so-called leadership group as being present at the scene of the Rentis incidents and they refer to a number of other incidents in the past with the defendants as protagonists”.

Reporting: Nikos Kontorousis, George Gerafentis, Kostas Papadopoulos, Katia Niakari