74 years have passed since the execution of the “man with the carnation”*, Nikos Beloyannis, and his three comrades—communists Dimitris Batsis, Nikos Kaloumenos, and Ilias Argyriadis.
The poem “The Man with the Carnation” was written on the very day of the execution by Yannis Ritsos, on the island of Agios Efstratios, where he was in exile.
He was arrested, along with 92 others, on December 20, 1950, in Athens, as a leading figure of the—then illegal—Communist Party of Greece (KKE), and appeared before the Permanent Military Court of Athens on October 19, 1951.
The first verdict was issued on November 16, 1951, sentencing Nikos Beloyannis, Elli Pappa (his partner), and others to death, under the law concerning the “detachment of part of the territory.”
On the same day the first trial concluded, the discovery of KKE radio transmitters in Glyfada and Kallithea was announced.
New arrests were made, followed by a new trial.
After the discovery of the transmitters, the Security Police constructed espionage charges against Greece, paving the way for his execution.
The second trial, involving 29 defendants, began on February 15, 1952, and ended on March 1, 1952.
Beloyannis and Argyriadis were sentenced to death twice; Batsis, Kaloumenos, Lazaridis, Elli Pappa, Touliatos, and Bispianos were each sentenced to death once.
The death sentences triggered massive international mobilization aimed at preventing their execution.
In just one week, the Plastiras government received around 250,000 telegrams, including from figures such as Charles de Gaulle, Paul Éluard, Jean-Paul Sartre, Jean Cocteau, Nazım Hikmet, and Charlie Chaplin.
Pablo Picasso was inspired to create his famous sketch of Beloyannis with the carnation.
Due to the international outcry, the “Pardons Council” granted clemency on March 28 to Lazaridis, Elli Pappa (who had given birth a few months earlier to Beloyannis’ son), Touliatos, and Bispianos, while rejecting the appeals for Nikos Beloyannis, Dimitris Batsis, Ilias Argyriadis, and Nikos Kaloumenos.
The Plastiras government proceeded with their execution at 04:12 in the early hours of Sunday, March 30, in Goudi.
