The student group "Left Unity" (Ar.En.) from the Athens Law School has accused university authorities of deliberately removing door handles from entrances on Massalias Street to prevent people from entering the building from the courtyard.

A video shared by the group clearly shows maintenance crews cutting off the handles from several doors at the Athens Law School. According to their statement, the purpose of this action is to block all access to the building from the courtyard.

Safety oncerns

In their announcement, the group directly accuses the university administration, particularly the rector of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, G. Siasos, and anyone else involved in authorising this move. They warn that with both the Massalias entrance and the internal doors to upper floors now locked, there is a serious safety concern, as emergency exits are effectively blocked.

They also claim that the order to remove the handles was given informally over the phone and not through any official channels.

“We will not tolerate this situation any longer or the increasing authoritarianism within our university,” the group states. “The real lawlessness in Greek universities comes from the government and those making these kinds of decisions.”

Students demand accountability over raids and lockdowns

The statement refers to recent police raids on university grounds, including the most recent intervention by riot police at the self-managed student-run café inside the Law School just days ago.

The group is now demanding that Rector Siasos take full responsibility for sealing off the Massalias entrance and eight other doors, and that the situation be immediately rectified.

“It is unacceptable for a university administration, under government direction, to try and ‘protect’ the university from its own students. The maintenance crews and private security must leave immediately,” the statement concludes.

According to early reports from ThePressProject, private security staff are currently evacuating the Law School, asking students to leave the premises without offering any further explanation.

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