The Piraeus Council of Misdemeanors has rejected a request by convicted robber and anarchist Nikos Romanos – on hunger strike since November 10 – to be granted leave to attend technical university.

The ruling follows an earlier rejection on Monday by a prosecutor.

The 21-year-old, who is serving a 15-year prison sentence for his role in  an  armed robbery in the town of Velvento in northern Greece in February 2013, was transferred to hospital last Friday in frail health as he entered a fourth week of a hunger strike to protest against the decision by authorities not to grant him leave to attend college, after he passed college entrance exams while in prison last summer.

In a letter, Romanos said the rejection of his request was the result of corrupt practises pervading the Greek justice system and pledged to fight for his principles ‘to the death’.

He ended the letter in a defiant tone, saying his struggle is a worthy one.

‘Long live anarchy. It is worth living a dream even if the fire burns you down,” he said.

Greek parties of the left and the centre-left, main opposition Syriza, Democratic Left (Dimar) and junior coalition partner Pasok, along with some Greek celebrities and others are calling on the government to back down on its refusal.

Staff at the Georgios Gennimatas hospital in Athens, where he is being treated, have also called on the government to grant Romanos leave.

“His (Romanos’) demands must be met so that his life does not continue to remain in danger,” hospital staff said in announcement.

They also also complained that the hospital had been overwhelmed by the presence of dozens of uniformed and plain-clothed police officers, adding that doctors are being pressured by a prosecutor’s order to force-feed Romanos.

Education Minister Andreas Loverdos said on Monday that the ministry does actually permit inmates to study in prison but said the final decision was in the hands of Public Order Minister Vasilis Kikilias. “The Education Ministry permits studying in prisons,” Loverdos said.

Romanos and five others were arrested and convicted for the armed robbery in 2013 but were cleared of the initial suspicion they were members of the urban guerilla group Conspiracy of the Cells of Fire.

Greek authorities came under intense fire at the time, for the brutal beating of the men involved in the robbery.  Police had tried to cover it up by comically doctoring their mugshots to erase their injuries. The incident prompted a prosecutor to launch an investigation into what critics described as Guantanamo-style tactics.

Romanos was a close friend of Alexandros Grigoropoulos, who was shot and killed by a police officer in the Exarchia district of Athens in December 6th 2008  sparking days of rioting across the Greek capital. He was with Grigoropoulos at the time of his murder.

(Read TPPI’s special report on The Murder of Alexandros Grigoropoulos.)

In an open letter, popular stand-up comedians Lakis Lazopoulos, Tzimis Panousis and the satirical TV and radio show Ellinofreneia also urged the government to meet Romanos’ ‘just’ demands, saying his “life is in their hands“.

They denounced the Greek state and the government,  ‘which has bowed to the troika and the memoranda and violated every constitutional law, every human value and has passed laws that serve vested interests at home and abroad, released drug dealers and offered luxury accommodation to jailed Golden Dawn members and people like (Akis) Tsohatzopoulos [former senior ranking Pasok member and government minister serving time on corruption charges)….

“All that Romanos is doing is asking for the right to attend college, he is not asking to be released from prison,” they said, adding that his right to an education, enshrined in law, ’must be upheld’.

His fellow inmates at Korydallos that took part in the robbery in 2013 – Yiannis Michailidis, Andreas Bourzoukos and Dimitris Politis – have also gone on hunger strike in solidarity with Romanos.

In a joint statement, the parents of Romanos and Michailidis said their sons were being punished for being anarchists.

“How many times must an anarchist prisoner be punished for being an anarchist? In the name of which values, is the state apparatus crushing the legal right of the hunger strikers for education leave?” they asked.

People have been increasingly showing up outside the hospital to support Romanos and protest the state’s mishandling, over the last few days. Rallies in solidarity to Romanos are scheduled to take place the coming days..