“They were cold, like murderers. They came to kill, quietly do what they were doing, and leave (…) They came with scythes, sticks and knives.

With these words, a friend of Alkis Campanou – an eyewitness, but also a victim of a bloody episode that claimed the life of a 19-year-old student – told from testimony in a mixed jury court in Thessaloniki, where the trial of 12 accused of murder is ongoing, what happened early morning on February 1, 2022.

The 21-year-old student, whose examination continues today, described frame by frame what happened on that fateful night in the Kharilau region, expressing confidence that the criminals had accomplices who “saw us and told them to come and find us.”

The witness began his testimony by looking back at the clock that preceded the murder, that is, before they ended up with his friend, as he called Alkis, and also with three of his other friends on the steps of the house on T. Gazi. The street where they were murderously attacked.

“It was about 8 pm. We were in Ari’s park. At some point we went to Ari’s friends club, had some coffee and left,” the young student said, noting that their group then returned to a specific park, only to a little later to move to the place of the bloody episode, which they chose “cuts” from the cold.

Their light-hearted conversation about computers and studies was abruptly interrupted when they noticed four people approaching from the left, “walking calmly and coolly,” asking them, “Which group are you?”

“I remember one was tall, blond, and he asked us: “What team are you from?”. Their faces were covered with full-faced hoods. Only eyes and eyebrows were visible. They were dressed in black so that no one could see anything in the dark. Everyone was holding something,” the witness said, and continued, “I replied that I was Ares. I didn’t understand then why they came.”

I froze when I saw the scythe

“Then I noticed that more people were coming from the right side – there were 5 or 6 of them. I was shocked when I saw a scythe in someone’s hands. The first thing was to protect myself, so I raised my helmet in self-defense. They came aggressively, their intentions were obvious. I hit the man on the head, he retreated 3-4 steps and hit me with a knife, left leg, thigh and right leg. At that time I was being held by several people. I wasn’t alone. They held me down, stabilizing me so others could hit me. I think there were several stab wounds. It all happened very quickly, in a few seconds,” Alka’s friend testified, emphasizing that he received 15 stabs with a knife, a wooden pole and a sickle.

i tried to save myself

In continuation of his testimony, he referred to Alkis, characteristically noting: “After a while, I heard Alkis calling for help. He was on the steps. They pressed me against the wall of an apartment building and beat me. I saw how many people on the top of Alka beat him and shouted for help. There were definitely more than ten people on it. I didn’t have time to look any further because I was trying to save myself. I went to defend him, but they grabbed me and beat me. I tried not to lose consciousness, because otherwise I would have been killed. The last thing I remember is a blow to the head. At this time, I blurted out, and they began to leave. I saw them leave for Plastira. I went down the stairs and took Alki in my arms, he took 2-3 steps, went to the flower bed, sat down and I tried to help him. A few minutes later the police arrived. I haven’t been able to contact anyone else. The first person I got was my father.”

In response to questions from both the judges and the district attorney, he said that what shocked him most was seeing the sickle. He also emphasized that none of the group of five young people is an organized fan of Ari, and when asked if anyone came up to him all this time to apologize, he answered in the negative.

The interrogation of the witness continues.

Source: RES-IPE