Greece: Peaceful protestors and journalists injured by dangerous police tactics

The report, based on two years of research and interviews with more than 100 protesters, journalists, lawyers and others as well as extensive video verification and analysis of multiple different protests, reveals a persistent pattern of unnecessary or excessive use of force by police during demonstrations.

Of the 67 people interviewed in relation to unlawful use of force in the policing of demonstrations, 30 described how police threw stun grenades directly at peaceful protesters and journalists, above their heads or at their feet or into dense crowds.

Photojournalist Marios Lolos, sustained hearing loss and a head injury after being hit by a stun grenade thrown by a police officer on 26 January 2025 while covering a demonstration about the Tempi rail tragedy. He told Amnesty : “I was carrying my camera, and it was obvious that I was a journalist. I believe the riot police officer threw the stun grenade at me intentionally…It hit the left side of (my head) and exploded next to me. If it had exploded in front of my head and not a little bit later, we would not be speaking at the moment.” A video verified by Amnesty corroborates Lolos’ testimony and suggests that he was deliberately targeted.

In May 2022, student Giorgos Mavros suffered a perforated eardrum, hearing loss, a head injury and wounds and burns on his right hand, arm and shoulder after police deployed stun grenades during a peaceful student demonstration in Thessaloniki. He said: “The sensation was as if I had been struck by a large iron bar.”

Verified video shows police unlawfully using stun grenades next to a café where people were sitting outside following the dispersal of an October 2025 protest in Athens, with bystanders caught up in the chaos. The report also documents unlawful use of batons, including officers striking peaceful demonstrators, chasing protesters in so-called “baton charges”, and beating individuals who were already under police control. Amnesty additionally documented a series of incidents involving misuse of chemical irritants, water cannon, unlawful use of force during arrest or detention and unlawful use of force by police motorbike units.

Actress and theatre director, Anastasia Politi, described to Amnesty how two police officers on a motorcycle, one of them holding a baton, drove through a crowd attending a demonstration in solidarity with Palestinians on 7 October 2025.

“I managed to step onto the pavement at the very last moment so the motorcycle wouldn’t run me over…but I still felt the bike passing extremely close behind me and at the same time a very strong blow to my back,” she said. She described how she “hit the ground like a watermelon” resulting in bruising, a broken arm, and a broken rib, light head injuries and injuries to her left knee and shin.

Victims of unlawful use of police force often struggle to get justice. Flawed disciplinary investigations, criminal investigations unable to find perpetrators, some judicial rulings that risk legitimising unlawful force and failure of public order police to display identification numbers hamper accountability. Meanwhile, Greece’s police oversight mechanism (EMIDIPA), does not have sufficient staff and resources to conduct more of its own investigations.

The report found that officers frequently failed to display visible identification numbers, making it difficult for victims of unlawful force to identify perpetrators and seek justice.

Amnesty International found that police are routinely using "preventive" identity checks to stop people participating in demonstrations. According to police figures cited in the report, 842 people were apprehended and taken to police stations for identity verification in connection with major protests between February 2024 and February 2026, yet only 144 were ultimately arrested.

The use of overly broad police powers allowing police to stop protesters and bring them to police stations for identity checks has resulted in people being prevented from joining demonstrations, often without reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing.

Protesters, journalists and lawyers speaking with Amnesty were subjected to arbitrary deprivation of liberty and described unnecessary and/or degrading body searches, unlawful use of force during their apprehension and/or detention and denial of medical assistance. They also spoke of police failure to guarantee their right to notify someone in the outside world or provide them with sustenance.

Anny Paparoussou, a lawyer providing legal assistance to peaceful protesters and Marina Meintani, a journalist covering a demonstration, were both deprived of their liberty by police under the guise of an ID check transfer. Both Anny Paparousou and Marina Meintani spoke about the unlawfulness of their apprehension and Marina Meintani of her humiliation at being partially strip searched by police.

The report also highlights the criminalisation of peaceful protesters, including individuals charged simply for participating in demonstrations or engaging in acts of civil disobedience. Amnesty documented the arrest of two of its own activists following the dispersal of a protest in Athens in 2022, during which they described being subject to abusive force by police.

Greek legislation governing protests is not compliant with international and regional human rights law and the obligations Greece has under the treaties to which it is party. Nevertheless, there have been efforts by the Greek authorities to further restrict the right to freedom of peaceful assembly - including a 2025 legislative provision introducing a blanket ban on protests in parts of Syntagma Square.