An appeals court has reinstated a life sentence for former police officer Epaminondas Korkoneas, nearly 17 years after he fatally shot 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos in Athens, rejecting his claims for leniency.
The unanimous ruling ends a long legal saga over the December 6, 2008 killing in Exarchia, which sparked weeks of nationwide unrest and became a symbol of police violence in Greece.
The court dismissed arguments that Korkoneas’ previously lawful conduct warranted a reduced sentence.
The decision followed a referral by the Supreme Court, which overturned a prior ruling that had cut his sentence to 13 years.
Korkoneas had previously been released in 2019, re-arrested in 2022 after backlash, and released again the same year.
The latest verdict came on what would have been Grigoropoulos’ 30th birthday. His family’s lawyers called the ruling a historic act of justice.
Source: Ekathimerini.
