170 Decibels of Silence: How Greece’s Use of Stun Grenades Is Silencing Journalists and Protesters

Athens, Greece: Nishant Shrivastava Picture this: you are standing in a crowd, camera in hand, documenting a peaceful protest. The air is thick with chants and the smell of exhaust. Then, without warning, a blinding flash and a deafening roar tear through the space beside your head. That is what happened to Marios Lolos, a veteran photojournalist and former head of the Greek Press Photo Union, in early 2025. A police officer threw a stun grenade during a demonstration over the Tempi rail tragedy. The device exploded near his left temple. The result? Permanent hearing loss and lasting neurological damage. Lolos later said, “Had it exploded in front of my head and not a little bit later, we wouldn’t be speaking at the moment.” His voice carried the weight of a near miss that changed everything.

This is not a one off event. It is a pattern. A new report from Amnesty International, released on June 3, 2026, reveals that Greek law enforcement has turned military grade stun grenades into a routine tool for crowd control. These devices, also called flash bangs or concussion grenades, produce sound levels up to 170 decibels. That is louder than a jet engine at close range. They are designed to disorient, but they also cause physical harm through blast waves, fragmentation, and intense light. The report documents over fifty testimonies from victims of excessive force during demonstrations.

Consider the case of Giorgos Mavros. In May 2022, he was a student attending a peaceful protest in Thessaloniki. A barrage of stun grenades left him with a perforated eardrum, head trauma, burns, and long term psychological distress. Four years later, he still experiences anxiety triggered by loud noises. He has withdrawn from activism altogether. His story is one of many. The report shows that Greek police deploy these grenades not as a last resort for hostage situations, but as a standard tactic. This violates international human rights standards, including the United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, which prohibit such weapons in civilian contexts unless absolutely necessary and proportionate.

The abuses go beyond stun grenades. Police have been filmed using batons to strike individuals who are already detained. They conduct aggressive baton charges that chase down peaceful demonstrators. They deploy chemical irritants and water cannons indiscriminately. In October 2025, Amnesty verified footage showing officers launching stun grenades near a café in central Athens, where bystanders were sitting outside. This happened just minutes after a protest had been dispersed. The chaos left several people injured and traumatized. The actions of law enforcement often extend far beyond their intended targets.

What makes this situation more concerning is the lack of accountability. Despite numerous complaints and criminal investigations, perpetrators remain largely unpunished. Greece’s independent oversight body, EMIDIPA, lacks sufficient staffing and resources to conduct effective investigations. Even when cases proceed, delays stretch into years. Judicial rulings sometimes inadvertently legitimize unlawful violence. A culture of impunity persists, fueled by weak disciplinary procedures, failure to identify officers during operations, and inconsistent evidence collection.

Marios Lolos knows this cycle well. In 2012, during anti austerity protests, a riot police officer struck him with a baton, fracturing his skull and nearly costing him his life. Administrative courts ruled the state liable for his injuries, but no officer was ever held criminally or administratively accountable. His experience is not unique. Many journalists and activists in Greece face similar dead ends in their pursuit of justice.

The implications reach beyond individual suffering. When reporters and citizens fear for their safety simply for attending or covering a protest, the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly begins to erode. People stay home. Voices are silenced. Dissent is discouraged. Lolos insists, “We will not be stunned into silence.” His resolve reflects a growing resistance among journalists, civil society groups, and human rights defenders demanding reform.

Experts emphasize that military grade tools have no place in domestic policing. Flash bang grenades should be reserved exclusively for tactical operations involving armed threats or hostage rescues. They should not be used to manage public assemblies. Their deployment in crowded urban areas increases the risk of mass panic, stampedes, and secondary injuries. There is also mounting evidence linking such tactics to long term mental health impacts, including PTSD, anxiety disorders, and chronic stress among survivors.

International pressure is mounting. Human rights organizations, legal experts, and regional bodies have called on Greece to immediately ban the use of stun grenades in public demonstrations and overhaul its protest legislation to align with European and global standards. Reforms must include mandatory identification of police officers during operations, transparent investigative mechanisms, and swift, impartial justice for victims.

As Greece grapples with these challenges, the stories of Lolos, Mavros, and countless others serve as urgent reminders of what is at stake. Peaceful protest is not a threat. It is a cornerstone of democracy. Protecting it demands not just better laws, but a fundamental shift in how authorities perceive and respond to dissent. The path forward requires political courage, institutional reform, and societal vigilance. For now, one thing remains clear: the silence that follows a flash bang may be deafening, but it will not endure. The truth, as these brave witnesses show, refuses to be extinguished.