Trial of Mangos torture in Karditsa: Shocking witness testimonies
The trial of six police officers accused of torturing Vasilis Mangos in Volos in June 2020 continued. Witnesses described a man who was unable to stand on his feet.
Trial of Magnesia police officers: "Even if I'm left alone, I will take the police to court"
On Friday in Karditsa, after the end of the summer judicial session, the trial of six Magnesia police officers accused of torture against Vasilis Mangos on 14 June 2020 resumed, as reported by ERT.
The first witness to take the stand was the woman who found Mangos outside Volos Police Station. She had gone to bring items to a detainee — arrested during the large gathering against rubbish burning — when she spotted a figure opposite the station with his arm raised, as if asking for help. As she approached, she recognised Vasilis Mangos.
She described him in a wretched physical and psychological state, struggling to speak. He told her, with difficulty, that police had beaten him in front of the courts, in the car, at the station and at the detention facility. He explained that one officer in plain clothes was punching him in the ribs with his fists, whilst others held his hands behind his back. He asked for water and the police, mocking him and cursing him, directed him to a broken cooler that was dripping drops. The witness helped him up, as he could not do so by himself. "He was groaning from the pain," she said.
A second witness, a friend of Mangos, was at Eleftherias Square when he met his partner. As soon as the car that transported him arrived, he himself undertook to help him reach his home. "He was hurting everywhere," he testified, adding that the only way to move him was to lift him by his armpits. He also noted that although he had seen a video of the beating outside the courts, the image he witnessed was much worse than expected.
A third witness visited Mangos at his home after his hospitalisation. During the first visit he found him broken — "his dignity had been violated," he said. During the second, he found him silent and withdrawn, with his psychological state radically changed.
One of the witnesses confirmed Mangos's willingness to take legal action. At a broad assembly of Volos collectives he had stated: "Even if I'm left alone, I will take the police to court." He had already begun contacts with a lawyer.
The defence counsel attempted to identify contradictions between written statements and oral testimonies. They also raised questions about possible substance use, asking whether Mangos was "clean" — witnesses who knew him answered affirmatively. They also insisted on why no one transferred him immediately to hospital. The witnesses explained that they had suggested it to him, but he, in a state of shock, wanted to go first to his home to feel safe with his relatives — assuming that they would then take him to hospital.
An intense episode occurred almost from the start of the court session. A defence counsel disputed the testimony of the first witness, who stated that she found Mangos near a school, arguing that there is no school in the area. Vasilis Mangos's father, Giannis, reacted loudly and was removed from the courtroom. Vasilis Mangos himself responded to a public post, attaching photographs from Google: "I denounce the lie, because with such lies they are trying to create a climate. It is proven that there are not one but three schools. Shame! They are underestimating everyone's intelligence."
The trial continues on Monday, 7 September.
Source: ERT