Ioannis Melisanidis: “The homophobic attacks in Thessaloniki are shocking and unjustified”

The lympian and ambassador of the European Committee on Human Rights against hate rhetoric, Ioannis Melisanidis, referred to the recent attacks by trans-persons in Thessaloniki “Any form of physical or verbal violence is deplorable and unjustified, even by minors. The verbal violence with mathematical accuracy leads to a felony act,” John Melisanidis initially said, referring to the recent homophobic attacks that took place in Thessaloniki. “ The troubled family environment certainly plays a role in these aggressive behaviors, but not all people grew up in troubled families. Behind the boys who make homophobic and racist attacks there is a need for them to prove how “men” they are” said the Greek Olympian, who was invited to the SKAI show. “ For me, lavender and mangy are unkind, they have only soul. Anyone who has no soul and does not honor “the things he carries” behaves like that” he said. According to John Melisanidis, the passage of the bill on same-sex couples was “a huge” positive sign, but it takes time to become gender equality “law” in the minds of citizens. At the same time, he said that education in schools plays an important role in this direction, so that children learn from young people to respect diversity. Finally, as he said, the solution to the phenomena of hate rhetoric and racist violence is the arrest, punishment and stigmatisation of the perpetrators, in order to prevent attacks.