Case of Irianna V.L.

Last updated

The case of Irianna V.L. involves the arrest, trial, conviction, and subsequent reactions surrounding graduate student Irianna V.L.'s alleged involvement in the school shooting has ties with the Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei. V.L. was eventually found innocent after appealing her conviction. [1] The case gained significant attention due to V.L. being found guilty based on an insufficient DNA sample. Additionally, the court's consideration of V.L.'s social connections and activities, such as a trip to Barcelona, a city known for its anarchist presence, sparked controversy. [2] V.L.'s initial 13-year sentence was met with skepticism, as it appeared to undermine the principle of presumption of innocence.

Contents

Case

In 2011, the Greek police surveilled a house of individuals with suspected links to the Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei. Irianna V.L. visited this house, as its residents were friends of her boyfriend. After a police raid, V.L. gave a testimony to Greek police and volunteered a DNA sample. In November 2011, arms were found in Polytechnic School of Athens containing a small DNA sample. In 2013, V.L. was arrested on the basis of the two samples matching. The sample was so small, however, that it was exhausted in the first examination of the DNA, leaving none left for cross-examination to validate the results. This was below the minimum viable legal threshold. [3]

The mass of the DNA sample collected from the guns was lower than the required legal minimum. Because of false positive results in DNA matching, a 2008 European Ombudsman decision recommended that each sample be tested at least twice. In the sole tested sample, seven of 16 sequences matched. [4]

V.L. was found guilty at trial, based on the DNA sampling, and sentenced to 13 years in prison. [3] She was released after a court of appeals acquitted her in 2018. [5]

The acceptance by the court of the DNA evidence has been widely criticized. Law philosophy professor Aristides Hatzis highlighted various police shortcomings regarding the DNA sampling, from collecting the sample to its interpretation, that should have led to the rejection of the DNA matching and a lack of conviction. Hatzis also claimed that V.L. was punished by the police and the court for having an affair and social relations with anarchists, a fundamental violation of the rule of law. [6] Law professor Gregoris Kalfetzis also raised his concern on the handling and interpretation of the DNA sample and noticed parallels between V.L.'s case and the notorious Dreyfus affair, in which the judiciary decision was predetermined before the trial and the evidence was manipulated to fit the decision. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

Anarchism in Greece traces its roots to ancient Greece but was formed as a political movement during the 19th century. It was in the ancient era that the first libertarian thoughts appeared when philosophers based on rationality questioned the fundamentals of tradition. Modern anarchism in Greece emerged in the 19th century, heavily influenced by the contemporary European classical anarchism. Because of the Bolshevik success in the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the rise of the Communist Party, anarchism faded after the first decades of the 20th century. The collapse of the military junta put an end to the monopoly of the political power from the Right, whereas the dissolution of the Soviet Union diminished the allure of the Communist Party of Greece allowing anarchist groups to gain pace in Athens and other cities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hellenic Police</span> Greek law enforcement and security agency

The Hellenic Police is the national police service and one of the three security forces of Greece. It is a large agency with responsibilities ranging from road traffic control to counter-terrorism. Police Lieutenant General Dimitrios Mallios is Chief of the Hellenic Police. He replaced Lazaros Mavropoulos. The Hellenic Police force was established in 1984 under Law 1481/1-10-1984 as the result of the fusion of the Gendarmerie and the Cities Police forces.

Maro Douka is a Greek novelist. She has lived in Athens since 1966 and she studied History and Archaeology at the University of Athens. She belongs to the so-called Genia tou 70, which is a literary term referring to Greek authors who began publishing their work during the 1970s; her debut work, Η Πηγάδα, based on her imprisonment in 1967 by the Military Junta, was published in 1974, just a few months after the Metapolitefsi.

The Siemens bribery scandal in Greece is a corruption and bribery scandal in Greece over deals between Siemens and Greek government officials during the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece regarding security systems and purchases by OTE in the 1990s.

Katerina Gogou was a Greek poet, author and actress.

<i>Marinella & Kostas Hatzis – To Tam-Tam</i> 1980 live album by Marinella and Kostas Hatzis

To tam-tam is the name of a double live album by popular Greek singers Marinella and Kostas Hatzis. It is their second joint live album, was recorded at the boite "Scorpios" on 11 November 1980. It was released in December 1980 by PolyGram Records in Greece and Cyprus and it went platinum, selling over 100,000 units.

The 2012 Paros beating and rape of a teenage girl on the island of Paros, Greece by Ahmed Waqas The case attracted widespread attention due to the fact the victim, who was usually referred to in the Greek press solely by her first name "Myrto", suffered substantial injuries resulting in permanent disability.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miran Pastourma</span> Pastirma and sujuk market in Greece

Miran Pastourma is a renowned pastourma and sujuk charcuterie business and market in Athens, Greece. The market has been in operation since 1922. It is considered the charcuterie of the connoisseurs. Despite the Greek economic crisis, Miran is expanding its business and has doubled in size to accommodate increased demand. The founder of the shop, Miran Kourounlian, is thought to be the man who brought pastourma to Athens for the first time. Miran is considered the largest company of its kind in the European Union. The flavour of pastourma coming from the historical enterprise permeates Euripides Street in the centre of Athens. Miran and its neighbor Arapian Cold Cuts are considered two of the historical establishments of Athens. Miran has been in the same spot in Euripidou Street since its opening in 1922. Miran is the recipient of multiple gourmet prizes.

Kostas Tournas is one of the pioneers of modern Greek rock. He is a singer and composer of many hits in the '70s including Ti Na Mas Kanei I Nychta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Action 24</span> Greek television channel

Action 24 is a private regional television channel whose facilities are located in the area of Marousi. It broadcasts terrestrial digital from 14 broadcast centers in Attica and Evia and satellite via the subscription platforms of Nova and Cosmote TV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Revolutionary People's Struggle</span>

Revolutionary People's Struggle, abbreviated ELA (ΕΛΑ), was a Greek far-left urban guerrilla organization formed in 1975 and disbanded in 1995. It was described as the largest terrorist organization in Greece. ELA was one of the two most important terrorist organizations in Greece; the other was the Revolutionary Organization 17 November.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rouvikonas</span>

Rouvikonas is an activist anarchist collective in Athens, Greece. It was formed in 2013 amid the Greek financial crisis and has since undertaken more than 50 actions. Rouvikonas is based in the central Athenian district of Exarcheia, a neighborhood traditionally accommodating of artists, anarchists and anti-authoritarians.

In the run-up to the May 2023 Greek legislative election, various organizations carry out opinion polling to gauge voting intention in Greece during the term of the 18th Hellenic Parliament. Results of such polls are displayed in this article. The date range for these opinion polls is from the previous legislative election, held on 7 July 2019, to the day the next election was held, on 21 May 2023.

Dimitris "Mitsos" Giotopoulos was a Greek Marxist who fought in the Spanish Civil War.

In the run up to the 2009 Greek legislative election, various organizations carried out opinion polling to gauge voting intention in Greece during the term of the 13th Hellenic Parliament. Results of such polls are displayed in this article. The date range for these opinion polls is from the previous legislative election, held on 16 September 2007, to the day the next election was held, on 4 October 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marfin bank arson</span> 2010 Firebomb attack in Athens

The arson of a branch of the Marfin-Egnatia bank in Athens took place on May 5, 2010, during anti-austerity demonstrations. A group of unidentified perpetrators threw molotov cocktails to the bank while 25–30 clerks where inside. Most of the employees managed to escape from the building or they were rescued by firefighters. However 3 people were trapped inside the building and died from asphyxia. In 2013, bank officials were convicted for the negligent homicide of three employees, the bodily harm of another 21 employees, and multiple failures in fire safety measures and staff training.

Eleni Topaloudi was a Greek university student who was gang-raped and murdered by two male assailants on the island of Rhodes, Greece. At the time of her death, she was a fourth-year student at the Department of Mediterranean Studies of the Aegean University. She hailed from the town of Didymoteicho.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Onassis Stegi</span> Cultural center in Greece

Onassis Stegi, formerly known as the Onassis Cultural Center, is a cultural venue in Athens, Greece, owned by the Onassis Foundation. Afroditi Panagiotakou serves as Director of Culture of the Onassis Foundation and Stegi respectively.

The death of Konstantinos Katsifas occurred on October 28, 2018, in the village of Bularat, Albania, near the Greek-Albanian border.

References

  1. ↑ Mandrou, Ioanna (2018-06-28). "Ομόφωνα αθώοι Ηριάννα και Περικλής". Skai.gr (in Greek). Archived from the original on 2019-09-06. Retrieved 2019-09-07.
  2. ↑ "Ηριάννα και Περικλής: Το σκεπτικό της απόφασης που τους καταδίκασε" (in Greek). Archived from the original on 2018-07-10. Retrieved 2019-09-07.
  3. 1 2 Ψαρρά, Αντα (2017-06-07). "13 χρόνια ποινή από μια κατασκευασμένη υπόθεση". Η Εφημερίδα των Συντακτών (in Greek). Archived from the original on 2019-09-07. Retrieved 2019-09-07.
  4. ↑ Kalfetzis, Gregoris. "Υπόθεση "Ηριάννα"". To Vima. Archived from the original on 8 September 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  5. ↑ "Αθώοι Ηριάννα και Περικλής - Αφήνονται ελεύθεροι". news247.gr. 2018-06-28. Archived from the original on 2022-08-09. Retrieved 2023-05-21.
  6. ↑ Hatzis, Aristides (14 October 2017). "Ηριάννα: Μία υπόθεση - ορόσημο για το κράτος δικαίου". Η Καθημερινή. Archived from the original on 15 October 2017. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  7. ↑ Kalfetzis, Gregoris. "Υπόθεση "Ηριάννα"". To Vima. Archived from the original on 8 September 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.