According to the police statement, officers received a report about damage to a side door of the 46th Athens High School. A team from the DIAS rapid-response unit located the 13-year-old and transferred him to the Exarcheia Department for Crime Investigation and Prosecution.

The police maintain that the boy’s mother was informed immediately and went to the station, while the student was released the next morning, November 6, following the verbal order of a prosecutor. A case file has been forwarded to the Athens Prosecutor’s Office. The police also said that a crowbar found nearby was seized as evidence, after residents reportedly stated it had been used by the perpetrators.

A case has been filed against the minor for complicity in damage to property.

However, the Parents’ Association strongly disputes the official version, alleging that the student was violently restrained and handcuffed outside a school under occupation, then held overnight without the presence of a parent, lawyer or psychologist.

According to their statement, the child was threatened to reveal the names of ‘accomplices’, forced to sign a document he had not read, and had his mobile phone forcibly unlocked so officers could search for contacts.

The association said that mobilisation by the family, teachers, students and the 2nd ELME of Athens prevented the boy’s transfer to the Evelpidon courts for an immediate hearing. He was later released, with the association demanding that the charges be withdrawn and the police conduct investigated.

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The Hellenic Police have responded to the serious allegations made by the Parents’ Association of the 23rd Athens High School, claiming that the 13-year-old student arrested in Gyzi was identified as part of a group that caused damage to a school building.