On April 30, 2026, Greek authorities levied legal charges against three faculty members at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTh) for their participation in a student protest.

Students at the AUTh were demonstrating against a new institutional policy that would impose stricter rules on university dormitories and shift maintenance costs onto students. Three members of the faculty union participated in the protest in solidarity with the students, including union president and professor of health policy Elias Kondilis, board member and professor of civil engineering Dimitris Raptakis, and board member and professor of chemistry Sotiris Sotiropoulos.

Soon after, the professors were summoned for questioning by the Thessaloniki Police Directorate’s State Security Department. This summons fell under a state legal scheme passed in the summer of 2025, which introduced stricter penalties and criminalized faculty support for student actions deemed “disruptive” by university administration. The three professors were charged with “disruption of public service” and “unlawful violence.”

Faculty unions across Greek universities condemned the allegations as wrongful and actively participated in a press conference at the AUTh demanding the immediate cessation of all legal actions.

Scholars at Risk is concerned about the prosecution of scholars for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and association. Such conduct is expressly protected by international human rights instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. State authorities must respect academic freedom and nonviolent expressive conduct and refrain from actions intended to punish, restrict, or deter such conduct. In addition to the harm to the immediate victims, such actions undermine academic freedom and democratic society generally.

Sources:
https://breakthroughnews.org/2026/06/05/greek-university-labor-leaders-face-charges-after-supporting-students/
https://iahponline.org/2026/05/24/iahpe-statement-on-the-prosecution-of-greek-academics-and-faculty-unionists-in-solidarity-with-university-students-struggle/
https://phmovement.org/legal-harassment-against-academics-greece
https://parallaximag.gr/thessaloniki-news/protofaneis-dioxeis-trion-kathigiton-toy-apth-meta-apo-symmetochi-toys-se-foititiki-diamartyria
https://www.ertnews.gr/ert3/thessaloniki-na-papsoun-oi-diokseis-kata-melon-tou-esdep-zitisan-ekprosopoi-tous-se-synenteyksi-typou-sto-apth/