Talk:Alexandros Grigoropoulos

Untitled

User 220.253.66.125, what I wrote is not my point of view but what greek officials, police reports, and eye witnesses said. We are in the discussion page in order to freely discuss the matter. The article page is locked, possibly out of your action. It 's highly inappropriate to remove comments from the discussion page just because they are not according to YOUR PERSONAL POV! The article page is disrespectful both to the dead of an innocent boy and the greek police, as it claims that the murderers were officers, while they were not! Period.

I 'm writing it again and please don't remove it, if you disagree you can write your own thoughts on the matter:

He was not throwing or even holding any petrol bomb. He was just outside an internet cafe with a bottle in his hands, firstly described as a beer bottle but later proved to be a soft drink one. Greek minister of the interior (the "boss" of police) himself called the incident a murder. Furthermore the policemen were no officers, just "special guards" with no education in any police academy nor any rank! Police said that they give orders to these 2 "special guards" not to attack anyone but to stay in their car instead, but they disobeyed their orders. They got out without reporting it to their local police station and then they went away on foot. That is what the police archives say, not anything of a bomb! The bomb thing was an invention of the disobeying "special guards" to justify their act.

And about the anarchy and what for he was there:

Actually he was not there. A friend of him was celebrating his name day and the boy was in the company of his friends. The two "special guards" (NOT officers) threated the kids for no reason, and one of the children replied by calling him a "karagiozis" = a shadow puppet. This was enough for the policeman to intentionally murder the kid "as he felt he had been insulted". —Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.193.193.68 (talk) 14:33, 14 December 2008 (UTC)

Edit request

{{editprotect}} Please remove the reference to the petrol bomb. It is defamatory and at the very least there are contradicting sources Despite being mentioned in the first reports as an 'official police statement', it was actually a leak that later proved to be false. It was the first account of the events as told by the police guard. In his statement to the court he makes no mention to a petrol bomb and refers being attacked by "rocks, bottles, and other objects."(he wouldn't obviously forget a petrol bomb, would he? This is reported by eleftheros tipos(mainstream, conservative newspaper [1]). The radio conversation records released by the police also disproves this claim as mentioned in this article by elefthorotipia(again mainstream, left-wing newspaper [2], 3rd paragraph reads "no molotovs were thrown, there was no danger, only minor damages to the police car"). Unfortunately I couldn't find any sources in english, but you can run the articles through google's translate or ask a greek-speaking admin to verify my translation. My previous request was deleted as 'more POV'. If you can provide information that can discredit the above sources, then be my guest and remove this.

 Not done The request is moot after the article was merged to 2008 Greek riots per the AfD.  Sandstein  17:00, 14 December 2008 (UTC)

Notability?

does this guy really need his own page? caesarscott (talk) 18:28, 9 December 2008 (UTC)

I think this page could be merged with the 2008 Greek riots page. --217.120.67.205 (talk) 18:52, 9 December 2008 (UTC)

Ok, you may do so.--Dimorsitanos (talk) 19:39, 9 December 2008 (UTC)

Seriously, notability is majorly contestable. Merge with the afforementioned ASAP. Druworos (talk) 21:31, 9 December 2008 (UTC)

Everyone who claims this page shouldn't exist should be required to go to Athens today and proclaim that on the streets... Stop being such pussies. Yes. HE WAS MORE IMPORTANT THAN ANY OF YOU. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.71.11.40 (talk) 02:39, 10 December 2008 (UTC)

I think his notability stems purely from 1 event, so I don't see any reason he shouldn't just be included on that events page.75.163.16.82 (talk) 03:21, 10 December 2008 (UTC)

I think your argument applies also to this person. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Charles_de_Menezes Should we tag this page as well for deletion? 85.73.82.186 (talk) 07:08, 10 December 2008 (UTC)

The shooting of Alexandros Grigoropoulos has received substantial coverage internationally from many reliable secondary sources. Also notability that 'stems purely from 1 event' should not necessarily be a bar to inclusion, the article on Jean Charles de Menezes offers a parallel to this case.--Grim23 (talk) 07:29, 10 December 2008 (UTC)

I think this discussion may be moot at this point in time. The events are still unfolding. His story is sounding a lot like Crispus Attucks, and he warrants his own page. The person/event that sparked such momentous events is by no means insignificant. Sheora (talk) 14:56, 10 December 2008 (UTC)

Relax people. He's a major component of the current events, so let him be mentioned in his own Wikipedia page. The poor kid's dead and Athens resembles a war zone. Surely, there are more meaningful discussions to be had than..."notability"...

Biographical Information

Is there any more biographical information that can be found on Alexandros Grigoropoulos from Greek language sources.--Grim23 (talk) 07:29, 10 December 2008 (UTC)

Yes there is but we respect the family that needs some privacy right now.--Dimorsitanos (talk) 23:29, 10 December 2008 (UTC)

Shot

The article should read "who was allegedly shot and killed by". The officer has a constitutional right to a fair trial which will determine what happened beyond reasonable doubt. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.116.253.181 (talk) 18:43, 13 December 2008 (UTC)

I think that the murderer's laywer is not a reliable source for the cause of his death, he rather makes a claim based on the - yet unpublished - ballistics.--Lady 6thofAu (talk) 16:27, 10 December 2008 (UTC)

The ricochet theory is still greatly in dispute. The coroner said the bullet wound was inconclusive, yet the cop's lawyer calls it irrefutable proof. Do we know no facts about this pivotal young man? -- User:leeeoooooo

"Murderer" isn't very NPOV. We need more time and more reliable sources. The police officer could have been acting in self-defense. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 206.163.60.149 (talk) 23:04, 10 December 2008 (UTC)

The article doesn't call anyone a murderer, although in a discussion i feel I can express my thoughts about the article (especially about sources)--Lady 6thofAu (talk) 00:32, 11 December 2008 (UTC)

The article should also clarify whether or not the boy was holding a molotov bottle at the time of his death. Anyone know? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 38.97.102.93 (talk) 22:12, 11 December 2008 (UTC)

That's police bullshit, according to eye witnesses. Witnesses claim some kids threw a bottle at the police car, but it could be anybody there. It was Saturday 9:00 night in central Athens. Nevertheless, the car drew away and they returned walking to provoke the kids. Then the shooting happened, after a verbal fight.--Dimorsitanos (talk) 00:59, 12 December 2008 (UTC) --Dimorsitanos (talk) 00:59, 12 December 2008 (UTC)

There is the video of the killing which is shown by all Greek TV stations and undoubtably accepted as genuine with no objections from any part to the resent time (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fGwwuYTxZY) which clealry shows that there is no molotov bomb whatsoever. I do not understand why the official position of the Greek Police is mentioned here (despite it has proved untrustworthy in several cases in the past) while this very well known video is not mentioned at all as a reference. Apseven (talk) 18:44, 13 December 2008 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Apseven (talk • contribs)

Edit war

The page has been protected due to excessive edit warring. Could the parties involved please come here and discuss their changes and build consensus. Please work together and try to reach an agreement, and if that is accomplished, the page can be unprotected.-Andrew c ^[talk] 15:14, 12 December 2008 (UTC)

Part of the edit war seems to be about the phrase "he launched a petrol bomb at an officer, as Greek police said"? This appears to be entirely made up by the one source quoted. There is no such claim by the Greek police in their released statement on the shooting, or even in the special guard's official testimony. I could not find any such reference in the Brittish or the Greek press. For example, the Guardian and the Independent, report that the group of youths were throwing "stones or other objects", but they never mention any petrol bombs. In fact, nobody in Greece claims that the kid was actually launching a petrol bomb at the time he was killed.

From The Guardian online:

"According to a statement issued by police and obtained by Reuters, the officers said the patrol car had been attacked by 30 youths throwing stones and other objects."(http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/07/greece)

"A police statement said an officer fired three shots after his car was attacked by 30 youths in Exarcheia." (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/08/athens-greece-crime-police)

From The Independent online:

"Two policemen claimed they had come under attack by a group of about 30 youths and that three warning shots and a stun grenade were fired when they shought out the group a few minutes later. "(http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/riots-rock-greece-for-third-day-1057386.html)

From Yahoo news:

"Police said the two officers involved claimed they were attacked by a group of youths and, when they confronted the youths, one fired three shots and the other threw a stun grenade." (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081207/ap_on_re_eu/eu_greece_riots)

From the English online version of the Greek daily Kathimerini:

"Sources said the officers claimed their vehicle was attacked by a group of some 30 people. One officer claims he threw a stun grenade while the other alleges he fired his service revolver three times- twice in the air and once at the ground- in self defense." (http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_2_08/12/2008_102842)

"In a written statement special guard Epaminondas Korkoneas said he fired his gun into the air "two or three times" while he and a fellow officer had been under attack by some 30 youths in [Exarcheia]. He added that the youths had been pelting them with stones, bottles and other items and shouting, 'Cops, bums, we're going to burn you alive.'" (http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_2_11/12/2008_102938)

From the statement released by police, published in the online edition of the Greek daily Kathimerini (translation mine):

"At around 21:00 hours of 6/12/2008 a patrol car of the Exarcheia Police Station carrying two (2) special guards was attacked at the junction of Ch. Trikoupi and Navarinou [streets], with thrown objects by about thirty (30) persons."

"The gathered persons, always according to the claims of the special guards, attacked the two special guards anew, and they reacted [by throwing a stun grenade and shooting]"

I don't see the point of mentioning the solidarity riots in this article either- there is the Greek Riots article for that. However, the phrase "he launched a petrol bomb at an officer, as Greek police said" seems to be entirely unsubstantiated journalist sensationalism . I suggest it is removed, so that the edit war can cease and the article can be expanded. Stassa (talk) 07:35, 13 December 2008 (UTC)

I don't think the police claims that the boy launched a petrol bomb. This is not even in the special guard's statement. I think the information about the petrol bomb was before the things clear of what really happened. The phrase has to be removed. -- Magioladitis (talk) 02:02, 14 December 2008 (UTC)

"in a group of boys throwing rocks at police, he launched a petrol bomb at an officer, as Greek police said." Remove this. This is nothing less than a straight forward lie. There is absolutely no proof to support this, it is by no means an official position, if it has ever been mentioned it constitutes a mere tiny minority view which not taken seriously by literally anybody. And there's no proof whatsoever to support such a claim. If this is presented barely as what "the police claims" then it shouldn't be put in the head of the article as if it was the official version, this is ridiculous. So please fix this asap. Miskin (talk) 06:58, 14 December 2008 (UTC)

And despite what that anon POV-pusher says in his edit summaries, this BS about bomb throwing was never the official version nor it will be. No details about the event should be mentioned in the article's intro but merely summarised a "conflict". Then the different versions of the story should be presented in the body of the article according to their weigh, just like as WP:NPOV states. Again, presenting a minority view in the article's head as the official version is a plain lie. The bomb throwing BS is the killer's version, neither police nor state nor media nor anybody has accepted this. There is no offcial version at the moment, but according to all eye witnesses is far from the killer's version. Miskin (talk) 07:11, 14 December 2008 (UTC)

Oh and for the record, even in the killer version (which is currently presented as the official one), no-one ever stated that Grigoropoulos himself launched anything at the cops, just that someone from his allegendly 30-member gang did. OK this is really frustrating, Andrew please unlock the article and let some fix that BS. The current revision is an insult to the assassinated child and 3 days is a long time. Please use your better judgement and act accordingly, if WP:IGNORE should ever be applied it is now. Miskin (talk) 07:19, 14 December 2008 (UTC)

You could put this: ...in the inner district of Exarcheia in Athens, Greece. According to police statements, he was in a group of boys throwing rocks and molotovs at police. However other witnesses contradict this, saying that only plastic bottles were thrown, and from 15-20 meters away[2]. (2 = [3]. Sorry I can't find an english language source in a paper yet.) But leaving it the way it is with the police statement as apparently uncontradicted is certainly problematic. I should say that I agree with the above users after looking at the special guard's testimony; it does not say he threw a petrol bomb either before or at the time he was shot. -- ArielGlenn (talk) 07:28, 14 December 2008 (UTC)

Please remove the bs about petrol bombs right now. It's an insult to the murdered boy and the thousands of people out in the streets of Athens. Not even the murderer himself did he say anything about petrol bombs. Numerous eye-witnesses testified that it was a murder in cold blood. The incident with the allegedly 30 people throwing stones at the police car happened some time before the murder. Wikipedia is the only source that's distributing such blatant lies about the incident. This definately not a NPOV. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 77.49.81.20 (talk) 15:20, 14 December 2008 (UTC)

Guys, calling anything "BS" is not the way to help defuse an edit war, which is keeping the article locked. Please get a hold of yourselves and instead of trying to argue in not-so-very- good English, do us all a favour and look for sources that contradict that "he launched a petrol bomb to an officer" bit and link to them from here. At least I hope that will help. Stassa (talk) 15:55, 14 December 2008 (UTC)

I was trying to simplify the word "allegedly" which is not clear enough and replace with "the Greek Police said". Of course I know that Aleksandros threw nothing to the police and he was brutally murdered by the special guard. But the user Ayeroxor, wanted the "allegedly" version.. At least let's reference the lies with the lier (Greek police) who said them.. Also, thank you admin Andrew C, for preserving the reference with source! to the Solidarity riots around Europe, that was ALSO DELETED BY THE USER AYEROXOR! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.114.204.148 (talk) 09:52, 15 December 2008 (UTC)

Adminstrator

Please change 4.000 to 4,000 Abberley2 (talk) 23:12, 12 December 2008 (UTC)

•  Done-Andrew c ^[talk] 20:47, 13 December 2008 (UTC)

Can you also remove the bit about the petrol bomb please? Stassa (talk) 02:32, 14 December 2008 (UTC)

Anarchist?

I am not sure about categorizing this person's article under the 'Anarchists' category. The reason why Alex was present in the protests is not clear; it's not known whether he was there 'for fun' (like many other kids of his age) or if he was a participant. Furthermore, it is highly doubtful that a kid of that age would have a political ideology since 'Anarchy' in Greece is a highly misunderstood term, a synonym of 'chaos and destruction'. It is therefore doubtful that a kid of his age would have the political background and knowledge to understand and endorse this (or any) ideology to be categorized as such. pictureuploader (talk) 08:26, 14 December 2008 (UTC)

You are confused about the timing of events. There were no protests at the time Alexandros Grigoropoulos was killed. They started after his death and because of it. He didn't die during the recent riots, they erupted because of his death. Stassa (talk) 16:01, 14 December 2008 (UTC)

Immediately remove the remark about why the shooting took place

Please remove the remark about molotov bottles and other bullshit as the cause of the shooting. This was mentioned at the original inquest of the guard after the event and at the original police statement on the events, although the police did not espouse the guard's first testimony, but realesed the statement with reservation whether what is mentioned is true or not. The same guard later changed his version, after many eye witnesses refuted his statements. In the way the events are mentioned in the article right now cause moral damage to the deceased and not to mention that his lawyer was persecuted by the Athens Law Union for damaging the reputation of the dead and took his statements as a "new moral murder" ("δεύτερη ηθική δολοφονία") as they mention at their press release.

There is a worldwide confusion on the caurse of the events, as well as the misunderstanding that the young boy was an anarchist, which is false. This misunderstanding is due to the original statement of the guard that he was attacked by 30 masked people, probably belonging to an anarchist group. Nevertheless, eye witnesses refute all of his versions of the event and not to mention that it was 9 oclock in the evening Saturday and Saint Nicolas celebration at the center of Athens and many people were passing by. There are testimonies that a bottle was thrown (it could be anybody) and we don't even know if the bottle was glass or plastic. There were not damages found at the police car, not to mention that the shooting took place after they went away from the spot of the event and returned on foot and then the shooting took place, although they were given orders to go away by the police department after the first event.--Dimorsitanos (talk) 16:24, 14 December 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedia is not a court and cannot say why the shooting took place, before the greek court decides, no matter how many sources are cited! Mention only statements that are not easily questioned. --Dimorsitanos (talk) 16:29, 14 December 2008 (UTC)

There are many inaccuracies from the foreign reporters these days, as their research is poor. I heard a british reporter mentioning that there is an unwritten law that police may not enter the greek universities for example. That is a written law actually. This is only an exaple. The greek media had also confusing information due to the inconsistent statements of the guard.--Dimorsitanos (talk) 16:33, 14 December 2008 (UTC)

Also avoid information on his family background. The family stated that does not desire publicity, although some media did not respect their wish.--Dimorsitanos (talk) 16:41, 14 December 2008 (UTC)