18-year-old in pretrial detention for flare attack against police officer
The 18-year-old, accused of the flare attack on a 31-year-old police officer that occurred last week during a volleyball match between local rivals Olympiakos and Panathinaikos in Rentis, was remanded in police custody on Thursday.
According to information, the 18-year-old asked to join a witness protection program, but his request was not accepted.
According to state broadcaster ERT, the 18-year-old stated during his testimony that he had no intention of causing harm to anyone. Allegedly, he aimed to shoot the flare upwards but didn’t know how to use it, resulting in the flare descending and hitting the police officer, who was about 70 meters away.
The 18-year-old maintained that the flare he discharged might be the one that hit the officer, considering other flares fell from the same spot. He expressed remorse and apologized to his family.
The detained individual faces charges of moral complicity, attempted manslaughter, possession of explosives and incendiary materials, an explosion posing a risk to human life, disturbance of domestic peace, and possession of pyrotechnics. It’s important to note that all charges are under the aggravating circumstance specified in sports law.
