1.2.13
The funeral of Nikolaos Dertilis at the First Cemetery of Athens, one of the protagonists of the 1967 dictatorship’s violent assault against the Athens Polytechnic uprising, attracted many divs from the Greek far-right, as well as a controversial “gun salute”.
Dertilis was dishonorably discharged from the military when he was sentenced to life imprisonment over the murder of 20-year-old student Michalis Myrogiannis during the November 1973 tank invasion of the Polytechnic. Dertilis was reported to have told his driver that he “got him on the first shot”, despite his age.
Dertilis was the last of the junta regime to remain in prison, refusing to repent. He frequently demanded that the State apologize to him and regularly stated that he preferred to die in prison as a “true rebel”.
Aegialia Bishop Amvrosios delivered a funeral speech where he controversially compared Dertilis to Socrates and Greek War of Independence hero Kolokotronis. Among those attending the service were fascist right-wing party Golden Dawn MPs and parliamentary representative Ch. Papas, dictatorial bodyguard Paraskevas Bolaris and EAT-ESA interrogator and torturer T. Theofilogiannakos, who also delivered a funeral speech.
During the burial, some of those attending drew guns and began firing, in lieu of a proper military salute. The police arrested and prosecuted one 22-year-old man who was found to have 21 bullet casings and a stiletto knife.
