LETTER FROM ATHENS

The story of Oliver, an eight-year-old husky who died as a result of severe injuries, has been setting the Greek internet ablaze for the past two months. On November 26, after having been reported missing for 24 hours, Oliver was found by his owner in his garden in the village of Arachova, bloodied, with broken ribs and blows to the head. The owner lodged a complaint and the police launched an investigation. An initial autopsy by a veterinary surgeon who had been monitoring the animal revealed that it had been beaten, tortured and even sexually abused, all of which could only have been committed by a human. In early December, the Greek Supreme Court called for an investigation to find the culprit(s).

On social media, the hashtag #cancelarachova spread, calling for a boycott of Arachova, a popular winter destination not far from the archaeological site of Delphi and a renowned ski resort. Adonis Georgiadis, then minister of labor (now minister of health), reacted on social media platform X: "This crime is scandalously inhumane. The community of Arachova must help the authorities to find the perpetrator or perpetrators" of this act. Animal rights groups have particularly condemned the wall of silence among local residents, who are unwilling to testify to the police. "Many cases of animal abuse in Greece take place in the countryside, where police are unable to do their job properly because in the villages everyone knows everyone else, and it's hard to find people to testify against a neighbor..." underlined Irini Molfessi, president of the Greek Confederation of Animal Protection.

The mayor of Arachova, Giannis Stathas, however, was keen to respond to the boycott campaign on ANT1 television: "We're not interested in the world coming [on vacation]. For us the most important thing is everyone's safety, and we don't want a psychopathic person – because a normal person couldn't do such things – circulating among us." Arachova's hoteliers' association also called the killing a "heinous act," but considered that not all of the village's shopkeepers and residents "can be judged online in the same way."

After a few days' lull in the Greek media, a new twist in the story appeared in late December. A vet's report commissioned by the police leaked to the Greek press, claiming that Oliver had died after being attacked by a pack of dogs. For Martha Poultidou, president of the Greek Movement Against Animal Abuse, "they're trying to bury the case." "I've been active in an animal rights NGO for 40 years, and I can prove that this dog was killed by the hand of a man, he had no bites to suggest that he had been attacked by other dogs... Along with other NGOs, we have asked for a new expert veterinary view," she said. Poultidou believes the perpetrator to be "someone influential with connections in high places."

You have 50% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.