Report by Nektaria Psaraki

On Thursday afternoon, media outlets reported that the prosecutor of the Larissa Court of First Instance had issued an order for the exhumation of Dennis. Yet, according to the family’s lawyer, Zoe Konstantopoulou, neither Routsis nor his relatives were officially informed. She condemned what she called “inhumane, vulgar and unthinkable communication games” being played “while a father fights for his life to uncover the circumstances of his child’s death”.

Konstantopoulou said that despite repeated calls to the Larissa Prosecutor’s Office and Police Department, she had not received the official order. “At the police station they told me the order exists, but it is locked in the commander’s office, who is absent. Meanwhile, the news is spread by (TN: pro-government) media outlets such as Proto Thema. This is a disgraceful attempt by officials, including Justice Minister Giorgos Floridis and others, to manage a crisis rather than investigate,” she said.

By evening, Konstantopoulou confirmed that an order existed but only covered DNA identification, not the full toxicological, histological and biochemical tests requested by the family. “This is an intentionally fragmentary order, designed not to investigate but to manage. A father does not go on hunger strike so his child can be dug up merely for identification. He does so to ensure everything is investigated,” she said, adding that the Prosecutor’s Office had now tacitly admitted that breaches of duty surrounding the burial and handling of victims’ remains required examination.

Routsis himself remained firm: “I will not stop. From the first day I said: I’m pushing forward until the end. These little angels up there want vindication, and I will not let it go until everything is done as it should be.”

Solidarity at Syntagma

Each day, people gather at the monument listing the names of the Tempe victims, opposite the Greek Parliament, to express support for Routsis. Signs and inscriptions have been placed in English to inform international visitors.

Fellow hunger striker Dimitris Economopoulos was rushed to the hospital, after he reached his 11th day without food, standing in solidarity with Routsis. On Friday, musicians Phoebus Delivorias and Natassa Bofiliou visited Syntagma to lend their voices.

Delivorias said: “What has been ordered is not enough. Toxicology tests must be approved so the case file can be complete and the trial conducted properly. This is not only the family’s question, but one that concerns the whole of society.”

Bofiliou added: “We are here to show solidarity and to promise that no one will find peace until their questions are answered. Until justice is served, we will be here for as long as it takes.”

National and international rallies planned

Support for the hunger strikers is spreading. On Sunday at 6.30pm, solidarity rallies will take place in dozens of cities across Greece – including Athens, Thessaloniki, Patras, Heraklion, Ioannina, Larissa, Chania, Kavala and many more – as well as abroad. Demonstrations are planned in Limassol, Cyprus; Reykjavik, Iceland; and New York, outside the Greek Consulate.

The slogan of the coordinated rallies reads: “Their lives are in danger and the government’s criminal indifference is killing them.”

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