Αn Athens prosecutor has filed felony charges against four police officers in relation to the brutal murder of a young woman by her former boyfriend outside a police station in Athens in last April. The prosecutor pointing to gross negligence by the officers desite the facts that the victim had asked for protection.

Twenty-eight-year-old Kyriaki Griva was fatally stabbed by her ex-boyfriend turned stalker on April 1 shortly after requesting police protection at a northwest Athens police precinct against the man – protection that never materialized. The woman’s murder shocked public opinion in the east Mediterranean country and rekindled serious debate over a perceived surge in fatal domestic violence.

The charge, as per Greek penal code, is fatal exposure through negligence by a person of authority.

All four law enforcement personnel had been summoned to provide testimony as suspects and will now face an investigative magistrate in the next judicial phase of the case.

Three of the officers served at the Aghii Anargyri police station, including a high-ranking inspector, the shift supervisor and a sentry, with the first two being female police officers.

The fourth is a police dispatcher, stationed at a central location, with whom the victim spoke shortly before she was stabbed to death. When she requested a police vehicle to take her home in safety, the dispatcher allegedly replied “ma’am, police cruisers aren’t taxis”.

The initial disciplinary fines were 200 euros for each officer, Kyriakis’ mother told media. An internal investigation was launched after the murder following an outcry by the Greek society. But that was not enough.

After the felony charges were raised, Kyriakis’ parents told media “our girl will finally find peace.”

The 37-year-old murderer remains jailed pending trial for intentional homicide in “calm mental state” as the penal code defines such a crime.

Kyriakis’ murder was the 5th femicide in the country since the beginning of 2024.