Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister Pavlos Marinakis marked the 34th anniversary of the death of Thanos Axarlian, who lost his life in an attack carried out by the Greek terrorist organization “November 17.” “On this day, 34 years ago, terrorism, in its most cowardly and darkest form, attempted to impose fear and silence freedom,” Marinakis wrote in a social media post, noting that the 20-year-old, “whose memory we honor today,” was “a victim of this blind and horrific violence.” He also stressed that Thanos’ story reminds us that there are no “good” or “bad” victims. “There is only the absolute condemnation of the crime. His blood is the indelible ink with which the decision was written — that we, as a society, will never again allow the darkness to return,” he emphasized.
Pavlos Marinakis’ post
“On this day, 34 years ago, terrorism, in its most cowardly and darkest form, attempted to impose fear and silence freedom.
The victim of this blind and horrific violence was Thanos Axarlian, whose memory we honor today.
Thanos’ story reminds us that there are no ‘good’ or ‘bad’ victims. There is only the absolute condemnation of the crime. His blood is the indelible ink with which the decision was written — that we, as a society, will never again allow the darkness to return.”
It is recalled that Thanos Axarlian lost his life on the afternoon of July 14, 1992, while walking unsuspectingly along the pavement of Voulis Street in central Athens. The young man’s life was cut short when he was struck by shrapnel from a rocket attack that had been intended for the then Minister of Finance, Yannis Paleokrassas, who was traveling in an armored Mercedes.
Earlier on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, two wreaths were placed at the site where he was killed — one from his friends and one from the family of Yannis Paleokrassas. Relatives and friends of Thanos Axarlian gathered at the location, while his mother, Stavroula, unable to conceal her emotion, laid several flowers at her son’s memorial.
