The public prosecutor in Thessaloni ordered a preliminary investigation into the case of the teacher who was being bullied by high school students.
The 57-year-old English teacher, Dr Sofia Christidou, suffered a hemorrhagic stroke on March 1, was hospitalized in ICU decalred “brain dead” and passed away on Sunday, March 7.
The case became known after denouncements on social media over the weekend, while media took their time to report about the case.
Η καθηγήτρια της Αγγλικής Φιλολογίας ΣΟΦΙΑ ΧΡΗΣΤΙΔΟΥ χαροπαλεύει στην εντατική του Νοσοκομείου Παπαγεωργίου εγκεφαλικά νεκρή από βαρύ εγκεφαλικό επεισόδιο λόγω στενοχώριας επειδή, μετά από εμπειρία 35 χρόνων διδασκαλίας της αγγλικής γλώσσας σε όλες
— SussaneH (@SussaneHal) March 7, 2026
The woman died a few hours after this tweet was posted.
Christidou had previously reported to Education Ministry and the Directorate of Secondary Education of Thessaloniki & Central Macedonia that she had been victim of bullying by a group of students at the public school where she was teaching English.
Ηowever, it appears that neither the ministry, nor the Directorate nor the public school principal showed any signs of support in any way.
The investigation order given by the head of the Thessaloniki Appeals Prosecutor’s Office is based on the publications that saw the light of day and the report that the teacher had allegedly made to the competent educational departments and services, requesting their immediate intervention in order to resolve the situation she was experiencing.
Information indicates that the investigation will focus mainly on ex officio prosecuted offenses.
The teacher had been referred to a health committee-referral, which, according to her family’s legal representative, was based on some complaints from school students that she was not behaving properly, without a disciplinary investigation being conducted beforehand.
In a 3-page report Dr Christidou wrote, she allegedly reported incidents of bullying she experienced from specific students in the classroom during class.
Citing specific dates and times, she spoke – among others – of an incident in which, while she was writing on the blackboard, a full bottle of water and a heavy book were thrown at her back, of a full bottle of chocolate milk and open lid thrown at her early February 2026.
She had also reported insults from this specific group of students, aggressive behavior, and threats to her physical integrity.
In the same report, it appears that she requested security measures, such as the presence of police officers and X-Ray machines at the school.
She even mentioned that the presence of two police officers could be foreseen during school hours, as well as the installation of body scanners and X-Ray systems to control objects entering the school premises, while she argued that the constant presence of a school psychologist was deemed necessary, with the aim of preventing, supervising, and more effectively managing such phenomena.
She specifically stated that the situation that had developed seriously offended her personal dignity and, in some cases, endangered her physical integrity, and for this reason she requested the immediate intervention of the competent Directorate, in order to resolve this extremely unpleasant, worrying and ultimately dangerous situation.
After the case was made public, several teachers reported on social media of their own experiences with “undisciplined” students – to say it polite.
They accused Christidou’s colleagues for not supporting her and blame students’ parents for the violence in public and private schools in Greece that has been an increasing phenomenon in the last two years.
