The 37-year-old man arrested for domestic violence against his 35-year-old partner is expected to give his testimony at the Evelpidon Courts, where he was scheduled to be taken on Saturday, June 6th. The woman fears he won’t be remanded in custody. The man was free on probation, according to her lawyer, while she described the entire incident with the 37-year-old and her attempts to report him to the Police. Speaking on MEGA’s “Developments Now,” she reported attempted strangulation and stabbing. After police allegedly told her that the man couldn’t be arrested, she contacted the Municipal Social Services, which initiated procedures for his arrest. The woman described: “He put his hands around my neck, tried to strangle me. I was scared at that moment because I thought I was starting to lose consciousness. And I had a knife. He grabs my hand with the knife in the kitchen and when I try to threaten him, he turns my hand with the knife to put it in my stomach.”
Domestic violence victim: How the 37-year-old was arrested
The woman turned to her municipality’s social services, which began the countdown to the 37-year-old’s arrest.
I went to the Municipal Social Services. I turned to them because nothing else was working. I explained everything to them. What had been happening all these years. A lady from the municipality took the initiative to call the police herself. He had called around 40 times. He was calling me non-stop and at some point the employee picked up to see what he wanted and he started swearing, speaking with very nasty words. Saying I was there having romantic relationships with others. He started shouting, threatening that “it was over. Come and you’ll see what’s going to happen.”
The first night of his arrest was also the first night she slept peacefully, she says. “I can’t describe what I’m feeling, honestly. But I sleep peacefully, wake up peacefully and today when I took the kids to school, I put music in the car for the first time, something I never did. And I think to myself, life is so beautiful and no one deserves not being able to laugh, take a walk, enjoy the sun, the weather, simple things. And I say no, this has to stop. And since a beginning has been made, these people must be punished.”
“Covered in blood”
The 35-year-old mother of two spoke about what happened when she went “covered in blood” to the Agioi Anargyroi police station, where Kyriaki Griva had sought help two years earlier. According to her, they returned her home in a patrol car but asked her to “lock herself in” and “if something happens, call 100 again.” The woman reportedly filed three complaints against her former partner, who allegedly remains free. Specifically, she emphasized: “And as I was covered in blood, because the children were crying, I went to the police. I entered covered in blood, told them ‘I can’t take it anymore.’ They know me, the police station has become like my second home. As soon as I walk in, they know who I am. But again, nothing happened that night. The only thing that happened was they brought me home in a patrol car, even though there was no reason because I had my car, and they went upstairs to see if he was there. I told them he wouldn’t be there since a complaint had been filed. And they told me to lock the door and if something happens, call 100 again.”
Read: Femicides in Greece: The growing list – From Eleni Topaloudi to Erato Manolakelli and Kalamata
Agioi Anargyroi: All three complaints at the same police station
As she described, the perpetrator had not been arrested despite the immediate action procedure. “There was never an arrest. The only thing they did was give me the app, the panic button and that’s it each time. It’s under immediate action procedure, they’re searching to find him. While I knew where he was, where he could be, and I told them, ‘He’s there, I know where you’ll find him. Outside, in public space, not inside the house in private space.’ Well, that never happened.” All three complaints, according to her, were made at the Agioi Anargyroi police station: the first on May 3, 2023, the second on November 3, 2024, and the third on May Day 2025. The last two, that is, after Kyriaki Griva’s death. The 35-year-old’s lawyer spoke to MEGA and claimed her partner is free on probation.
Two years after Kyriaki Griva’s femicide, the 35-year-old claims she received the same treatment from the same police station. They had also told Kyriaki Griva to “call 100.” “For me, I believe nothing has changed. At least for me, the treatment I received from them, I think it’s the same. The same answer: ‘Call 100.’ But why should I call 100? I’m already at the police station. Should he come to the house or… It’s unacceptable for someone, I don’t know if he was a duty officer, to turn around and tell me ‘Ma’am, the only way we can catch him is if you provoke him to hit you again.’ It’s unacceptable,” the 35-year-old claimed.
Unimaginable encouragement
The woman claimed she was asked to “let him into the house” and “provoke him” so an arrest could be made. “And my answer was ‘By the time I call you, do you know how many minutes this whole process will take me to explain again what happened?’ I say, ‘this happens every time.’ I say, ‘He attacks me, hits me, I call you and he leaves. And there’s never an arrest. So you’re telling me,’ I tell him, ‘to let him come kill me so you’ll come,’ I tell him, ‘to take me as a corpse?’ I tell him.”
“It’s tragic. I don’t know what’s happening here and I hear it from many, from many women, that I don’t know what’s going on at the station… there with us. Something needs to be done. Measures need to be stricter, and more immediate intervention in such issues. Because we’re talking about lives, women’s lives are at stake,” she commented. In fact, the 35-year-old has reached the point of considering leaving Athens: “I’ve thought about it many times, but I have nowhere to go with two children. It’s difficult. And I can’t understand why I should go through this process. When I pay for a house myself, it’s in my name, I cover all the expenses – why should I take two children and leave, go where?”
