Marinakis on trial in Athens over inciting gang violence

Evangelos Marinakis, owner of Nottingham Forest, is charged with instigator of supporting a criminal organization and inciting football violence in Athens.

The 58-year-old owner of Greek side Olympiacos is accused of supporting a criminal organization and making two misdemeanor counts against him and four other board members.

Marinakis and the other Olympiacos board members have dismissed misdemeanour charges as unfounded. His lawyer Vassilis Dimakopoulos represented him in court.

142 fans are accused of being members of a criminal organization and of causing fatal explosions at sporting events total. Seven of them have been accused of running the criminal organization.

The death of 31-year-old riot police officer George Lyngeridis, who was killed outside a women’s volleyball match between Olympiacos and Panathinaikos in 2023, is the subject of the charges.

During the clashes, Lyngeridis was struck by a flare, and he later passed away from his injuries.

The trial was scheduled for midday, but it didn’t begin until 13:30 local time, which brought the trial’s conclusion at 15:00.

The trial is taking place in a specially designed room next to the Korydallos high-security prison in southern Attica because of the large number of defendants and witnesses present. There are more than 140 defendants and 220 witnesses.

The judges will decide the size of the courtroom when the lawyers’ next appearance is later this month.

Three senior judges will rule by majority, making the court a three-member panel.

The defendants are supporters who are set to go on trial for allegedly killing a police officer in a 2023 hooligan violence incident in Piraeus-port city.

The street outside the building was blocked off by police early on Wednesday morning. Some Olympiacos fans gathered, but there wasn’t a planned demonstration to show their support for the defendants.

Everybody who entered the courtroom had their ID checked, and backpacks were scanned with a metal detector. In the trial, journalists and attorneys have their own entrances, separate from witnesses and witnesses. In a room next to the one, a makeshift media center was constructed.

As the judges demanded the defendants’ presence on the bench, the trial began in total silence. The defendants and witnesses’ names were read out. Police officers were heavily armed and wore hoods.