Greece faces new #MeToo reckoning with probe into sex trafficking ring

An alleged rape involving wealthy businessmen and well-connected figures has spurred police investigations as calls for justice for sexual assault victims grow louder, reports Moira Lavelle

A woman holds a flare as others hold placards, one of them reading ‘We are full of rage’, during a demonstration in support of victims of rape in Athens, earlier this month (AFP via Getty Images)

At the beginning of January, a 24-year-old woman in Thessaloniki, Greece, reported she had been raped by multiple men at a New Year’s Eve party in a luxury hotel.

The accusation led to a high-profile arrest, sparked investigations into an alleged sex trafficking ring spanning Greece and Cyprus, and caused a storm on social media as the Greek #MeToo movement widens with a new focus on the nation’s wealthy businessmen.

According to Greek news channel ERT, the alleged victim told police she had been drugged at the party, taken by three men to a hotel room while intoxicated, and woke up naked.

Greek police said earlier this month that a 27-year-old man had been arrested in connection with the case, while a preliminary inquiry is being carried out. Police in Thessaloniki and Athens this week told The Independent that they are currently investigating a suspected sex trafficking ring in light of the complaint.

Greek media outlets have identified the man, who , in a statement, said he had consensual sexual contact with the alleged victim.

As of Monday, the Thessaloniki court was waiting for the results of toxicology and DNA tests to determine if the woman was drugged and whether there was DNA from one or more men, according to local media reports.

News of the alleged rape surfaced on social media shortly after the party and entered the country’s ongoing discussion about sexual and gender-based violence.

Greece’s fairly recent #MeToo movement has brought accusations of rape and sexual abuse to light in the worlds of art and sport, but this latest allegations is the first to involve the country’s wealthy businessmen.

It’s time to open Pandora’s box

Illias Gkionis, women’s rights activist

There was a further twist on 13 January, when a Greek businessman who is believed to manage several bars, posted a story on Instagram apologising for a New Year’s Eve party he had helped to organise, the event where the woman says she was raped, which set off a firestorm on Greek social media. The businessman said he later he had not made the post.

LGBT and feminist activist Illias Gkionis has been involved in sharing information regarding the rape case online.

Mr Gkionis told The Independent that he soon began receiving dozens of messages from women in Thessaloniki who knew the men listed — he said the women shared stories of how they or their friends had been lured to parties, and drugged, assaulted, or beaten by these men and their contacts.

The activist shared these stories - anonymously - on Instagram.

Women hold placards, one of them reading ‘Down with rapists’, during a demonstration in support of victims of rape in Athens last week (AFP via Getty Images)

“I feel like I have to. They trust me,” said Mr Gkionis. “With #MeToo and all the femicides we repost everything. [...] Even if we don’t win in the courts, we change the society.”

The activist continued to share messages about the business connections of the men, and testimonies from several women. “When we put something in public, people take the power and they speak finally,” he added. “It’s time to open Pandora’s box.”

Mr Gkionis believes that there is a large-scale sex trafficking ring involving wealthy men who lure young women to bars or hotels they owned, and assault them. He told The Independent that Cypriot police have reached out to him regarding the case, but that he had not had contact with Greek authorities.

The prosecutor of Greece’s Supreme Court, sent a letter to the prosecutor of Thessaloniki last week, urging the office to proceed with the investigation in depth and in any direction.

Several Cypriots were reported to be at the New Year Eve’s party in Thessaloniki, and on 19 January, Cyprus’ justice minister stated the country was working on opening an investigation into a sex-trafficking ring operating across the two countries.

Greek Olympic champion Sofia Bekatorou effectively kickstarted Greece’s #MeToo movement with her own allegations of being sexually assaulted by a sailing official as a young woman (EPA-EFE)

Discussions of the incident have been widespread in recent weeks in Greek news and on social media. Demonstrations were held in Thessaloniki, and in Athens on Friday, a protest of about 4,000 people took place in the city centre.

Earlier this month, a Greek former sailing coach accused of raping a child went on trial in Athens, in one of the first such cases that surfaced after an Olympic champion spoke out about her experience of sexual abuse and effectively kickstarted #MeToo in Greece.

Sailor Sofia Bekatorou spoke out in December 2020 about her own abuse as a young woman by a sports official, with her revelations spurring many victims of sexual assault to come forward.