A 50-year-old man has been remanded in custody after allegedly breaching a restraining order, storming his ex-wife’s home and live-streaming a hostage standoff in which he threatened her with an ax and flammable liquid, authorities have said.
Police said the man broadcast the confrontation on Facebook in real time as he forced the woman through the house and onto the balcony, repeatedly threatening to set the building on fire. Armed police, firefighters and a hostage negotiator rushed to the scene and sealed off the area in the central Greek city of Larissa.
The standoff lasted for hours as negotiators tried to calm him, even offering to share a coffee in an effort to de-escalate the situation.
The suspect refused and demanded to speak with judicial officials, whom he blamed for limiting his access to his child. He later spoke by phone with a prosecutor, but the call did not end the impasse.
The breakthrough came when the secretary of the Larissa Police Union, who knew the man personally, intervened and persuaded him to surrender without further violence. No injuries were reported.
The suspect appeared before the Single-Member Misdemeanor Court on charges including domestic violence, violating a judicial order and weapons offenses.
He told the court he did not pose a danger, saying: “I would give my heart for her to live.”
The hearing was adjourned until Friday afternoon so a defence lawyer could be appointed. The man remains in detention.