Murder of Alkis Kampanos: Case goes to appeal – 12 defendants in the dock
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The case concerning the murder of 19-year-old Alkis Kampanos is being brought before the Mixed Jury Court of Appeal in Thessaloniki. The prosecutor’s appeal against the first-instance ruling paves the way for more serious charges to be examined against most of the 12 convicted defendants.
- 23 Οκτωβρίου 2026 08:45
The case concerning the murder of 19-year-old Alkis Kampanos is being brought today before the Mixed Jury Court of Appeal in Thessaloniki. Kampanos was killed in an indiscriminate act of football-related violence on February 1, 2022, in the Harilaou district.
Twelve young PAOK supporters will appear in the dock. Following the first-instance ruling, they returned to prison. Seven of them were sentenced to life imprisonment plus additional lengthy prison terms as co-perpetrators of homicide with eventual intent, while the remaining five received fixed-term prison sentences as accomplices to the same offence.
Provided that proceedings formally begin, following two adjournments in January and November of last year, the trial will effectively start from scratch for most of the defendants, with the court not bound by the verdict of the Mixed Jury Court of Thessaloniki.
This is because the former head of the Thessaloniki Appeals Prosecutor’s Office, Nikos Kallidis, filed an appeal against the ruling in July 2023, just days after the completion of the first-instance trial, seeking the imposition of harsher sentences.
The prosecutor’s appeal and the more serious charges
The senior prosecutor considered the first-instance ruling erroneous in changing the charge to homicide with eventual intent, arguing that the defendants should have been convicted of homicide with direct intent, as provided for in the original criminal prosecution.
In addition, he concluded that three of the defendants should not have been convicted merely as accomplices. More specifically, according to the prosecutor’s appeal, one should have been convicted of instigating homicide with direct intent, while the other two should have been convicted as co-perpetrators of the same offence.
The appeal does not concern two of the twelve defendants and, consequently, only in their cases does the principle prohibiting a deterioration of their legal position apply, meaning that they cannot receive a harsher sentence than the one imposed at first instance.
Beyond the murder of 19-year-old Alkis Kampanos, the indictment also includes the acts connected to the attack against his two friends, who were with him during the bloody incident that shocked the country.
Heightened security measures at the Courthouse
Ahead of the appeal trial, a meeting was held in recent days at the Thessaloniki Courthouse, with representatives of the judicial and police authorities taking part.
The meeting examined issues related to the implementation and coordination of security measures, both inside and outside the courtroom.
Organisational matters were also discussed, including the allocation of seating for those involved in the proceedings, with the aim of ensuring the smooth and orderly conduct of the trial.
