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Court officials are talking about non-existent security measures at the Court of First Instance of Athens on Loukareos Street, after the invasion of an 89-year-old man who shot and injured four people inside it judge mansion on Tuesday morning.
The workers complain that the courts in Loukareos, which in recent years have received a much higher volume of cases and citizens after the abolition of the magistrates’ courts, do not meet any safety regulations. The general secretary of the Association of Court Clerks of Athens, Sotiris Tripolitsiotis he even tells “K” that the X-ray machines that have been purchased for about seven years remain unused because there is no staff to operate them.
“He fired with the gun pointing down, but the shrapnel ricocheted off and injured our colleagues.”
“None of those who enter the courts can be controlled,” he notes and adds that the police presence is merely formal. “The building has two entrances. One is in Loukareos and the other in Degleri. There is only one police officer in Degleri who does not have the ability to control those who enter and only intervenes if he is called for an incident. There isn’t even a police officer at the entrance to Loukareos,” he adds.
Mr. Tripolitsiotis was in court when the 89-year-old opened fire. “There was a panic. I was in an office next door and we heard someone yelling that a gunman was walking down the hall. We hid and came out after about 10 minutes. This man entered office 23 where lawsuits are filed. At that moment there were six or seven people inside. He fired with the gun pointing downwards, but the shrapnel ricocheted off and injured our colleagues,” he says.
“If someone is in danger of losing their home, they can react violently”
The general secretary of the association adds that the large amount of work that has been added to the courts of Loukareos also includes cases related to auctions. “About 400 cases are tried every Tuesday. If someone is in danger of losing their home, they may react violently. Today was not such a case, but we have raised it as an issue to highlight the need to further strengthen security measures in the courts.”
For the above reasons, the Association decided that on Wednesday there will be an emergency stoppage of all work in all judicial services in Athens. He also announced that at 9.30 in the morning there will be a gathering in the outdoor area of the former Peace Court. “The event proves how just our demand for safe and humane working conditions is, the need to take substantial measures to protect our lives and health, and confirms the special conditions in which judicial officers work across the country. We are not expendable,” he says in the statement he issued.
Consecutive incidents
However, the issue of security does not arise only for the premises of the Court of First Instance. As the Hellenic Prosecutors’ Association states in its announcement, on April 26, an organized attack with sledgehammers and widespread vandalism took place at the Administrative Appeals Court of Athens. The Union expresses its strong concern over the successive serious incidents of violence that have occurred in the last twenty-four hours, which “highlight in the most alarming way not only the need to substantially strengthen security measures in the country’s court buildings, but also the need for effective institutional protection of the independence and proper functioning of the Judiciary”.
“Essentially unguarded court premises”
The Union of Judges and Prosecutors also issued an announcement on the matter, with which it requests measures to be taken for the smooth operation of the courts and the safety of the staff. “Today’s unprecedented attack by an armed man inside the courthouse of the Court of First Instance of Athens on Loukareos Street (former Peace Court), with the victims of four injured court officials, demonstrated in the worst possible way the absence of adequate security measures to protect court officials, court officials, lawyers as well as the public who are in the court premises every day. After our previous announcement about the introduction of a weapon into the courts of Evelpidon a few months ago, we find in a bitter way, which has already cost the physical integrity and endangered the lives of judicial officers in the exercise of their duties, that the premises of the courts remain virtually unguarded, exposing all the agents of Justice to danger. We really don’t know what else the State is waiting for to take its responsibilities! The Association of Judges and Prosecutors is sounding the alarm for the umpteenth time. We demand that adequate measures be taken immediately to safeguard the smooth functioning of the courts and the safety of the Justice personnel and all citizens, before it is too late,” the Union points out.
