Aunt accuses school of hushing up violent bullying

The aunt of a 13-year-old boy in Rethymno, Crete, is accusing authorities at her 13-year-old nephew’s school of seeking to hush up a violent attack on the boy by other pupils at the school.

Speaking on Skai TV on Wednesday, the woman, who asked not to be named, said her sister had been forwarded a video by the boy’s soccer coach capturing the attack, which took place in the Rethymno school’s courtyard last week.

“All they care about is not getting into trouble,” the woman told Skai, in reference to the response from the school.

According to the woman, the school’s principal is said to have responded “That video is bad for us,” when the boy’s mother went to him with the footage and complained about the incident.

He allegedly went on to say that a psychologist would be brought to the school to speak with the children involved, but did not indicate that he would be taking any other action, the boy’s aunt said, after deciding to go public with the incident. 

The video shows the 13-year-old being assaulted by another boy, who repeatedly punches him in the head while holding him in a headlock, throws him onto the ground, kicks him and drags him around the courtyard, while a few other boys are seen stepping into the frame to deliver kicks and punches to the struggling child. Shouts of “kill him” can also be heard on the video, according to the report on Skai TV. 

The incident took place in the courtyard before the school’s teachers and administrators had come to start the day, but after several children were dropped off by the bus that shuttles them in from different villages in the rural outskirts of Rethymno. 

Speaking to state broadcaster ERT later, the local government official responsible for secondary education in Rethymno, Manousos Marangakis, said the incident has been reported to the police and that “all the necessary actions have been taken.”