It was March 19, 1983 when the editor of the "Vradini" newspaper, Tzortzis Athanasiadis, was shot dead by an unknown assailant in his office, a murder that still, 38 years later, has not been solved.
Tzortzis Athanasiadis was a publisher and businessman, director and main shareholder of the newspapers "Vradini" and "Nautemporiki". He was a close friend and collaborator of the Prime Minister and President of the Republic Constantinos Karamanlis, founder and first president of OPAP, president of the Hellenic Olympic Committee and president of the Association of Athens Daily Newspaper Owners.
On the night of Saturday March 19, 1983, Athanasiadis was murdered in his office in "Vradini", by a man who shot him three times. After the murder, a woman called the newspaper and reported that the Anti-Military Struggle organization claimed responsibility for the murder. The woman indicated the spot where there was a proclamation of the organization, which was found at the intersection of Stadiou and Aiolos streets. However, an organization entitled "Anti-Conscript Struggle" already existed, and was peacefully active in the movement against conscription. The organization has denied involvement in the case and no evidence has ever emerged against its members.
The theories surrounding the Athanasiadis murder give and take. According to them, Athanasiadis was murdered by the underworld because he owed money to moneylenders or by a Greek or foreign secret service that wanted a disturbance in the political scene.
In September 1985, Attica Security arrested KYP agent Danos Krystallis, who was directly handled by the then Director of KYP Security Colonel Ioannis Alexakis.
Unpublished proclamations of the Anti-Military Struggle were found in Krystallis' house. Danos Krystallis stated that as an "infiltration agent", he had come into contact with the terrorist organization on the order of the KYP, and thus the notices fell into his hands. The court concluded that Krystallis had not taken part in the murder of Athanasiadis.
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