Three students have been injured in an attack during a university assembly in Athens, prompting a police investigation and a request from Greece’s education ministry for answers about campus security and the response to the incident.
The violence took place on Wednesday 4 November at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, on its Zografou campus. Students from the mathematics department had gathered for an assembly when a group entered the building. Some of those involved in the attack were wearing helmets.
Greece’s emergency medical service said three people were treated at a hospital in Athens and that their injuries were not critical. The university said the doctors treating the students considered their condition good and that they were not in danger. It said it was working with Gennimatas Hospital to support their recovery.
Accounts of the attack
A student witness described an axe being used and an incendiary device being thrown during the attack. One student suffered a leg wound and another sustained burns. Accounts have differed about the third student’s injuries and the number of people in the group.
Police were investigating the circumstances. The identity of those responsible and their motive were not immediately clear, and no arrests were immediately reported. Those involved have not been conclusively identified as members of any particular student organisation.
Accounts of the assembly’s purpose also differ. University sources said the meeting was to discuss the removal of students from university registers. A witness understood it to be connected with preparations for an occupation ahead of the anniversary of the 1973 Athens Polytechnic uprising. Neither account establishes why the attack happened.
Ministry seeks written answers
The education ministry condemned the violence and asked the university administration for an urgent written report. Among its questions were whether injuries had been confirmed and how many people had been hurt, and whether first aid had been provided.
It also asked when the university’s security team had been notified and what action it had taken. The ministry requested information about measures for students to enter the mathematics department safely and how they would be told about arrangements for classes the following day.
The ministry said violence at a university undermines freedom of expression and the right of students to study in a safe and respectful environment. It said the competent authorities would investigate what happened. Its questions to the university are a request for information, not a finding that security staff failed to act.
The university administration said it was in contact with the ministry and called on the relevant authorities to bring those responsible to justice. It described the safety of students and staff as a priority and said it would continue to support the injured students.
Wider education debate
The attack came amid a wider debate about education and living costs in Greece, although no connection between that debate and the violence has been established.
On 21 October, thousands of students and teachers demonstrated across the country, calling for greater public funding for education, better facilities and less crowded classrooms. Police estimated that about 10,000 people joined a peaceful rally in central Athens and its suburbs. Some teachers and doctors also walked out over pay and staffing shortages.
Before those demonstrations, education minister Sofia Zacharaki acknowledged that housing costs were putting pressure on households. She said projects worth more than €733 million for student residences and improvements to facilities were under way. The October protests were separate events; the reason for the attack on the assembly remains under investigation.
Featured image: AI-generated illustration.
