Demonstrations in Amfissa, further delay in Grigoropoulos murder trial, Alfredo & Christos transferred to Korydallos

Click for full image

from ainfos, 21 January 2010:

A group of 400 students, leftists and anarchists held a demonstration yesterday in Amfissa, where the trial of two policemen accused of being involved in the shooting of teenager Alexis Grigoropoulos was due to begin yesterday. Protesters were involved in minor scuffles with riot police. There were no reports of arrests or injuries.

The long-awaited trial of the two police officers charged in connection to the fatal shooting of teenager Alexis Grigoropoulos in December 2008 was postponed yesterday and instead will start tomorrow.

Amid tight security, lawyers, witnesses and the two suspects, Epaminondas Korkoneas and Vassilis Saraliotis, gathered yesterday at the courthouse in Amfissa where the trial has been moved because authorities feared that anarchists or possibly even terrorists might target proceedings if they were held in Athens.

Click for full image
more images

Korkoneas has been charged with shooting the 15-year-old dead in the central Athens neighborhood of Exarchia. Saraliotis is accused of being an accessory. The killing sparked more than two weeks of protests and riots in Athens.

An extra 700 police officers were drafted in to protect the town, some 200 kilometers northwest of Athens, and three checkpoints were set up on surrounding roads in a bid to ensure that troublemakers were kept away from the court.

Yesterday’s proceedings passed off peacefully, although there were brief scuffles outside the courthouse between anarchists and riot police.

Judge Angelita Papavassiliou decided to postpone the start of the trial until tomorrow, as Grigoropoulos’s mother, Gina Tsalikian, was unable to attend because her 84-year-old mother is in the hospital.

Korkoneas has employed the high-profile lawyer Alexis Kougias, who was also not present yesterday because he was taking part in another trial.

Tsalikian is considered a key witness and is first on the list of those due to testify. However, if she is also unable to attend tomorrow, witnesses to the shooting and the teenager’s friends will give evidence instead.

[original article]

++++

Amfissa braces for Grigoropoulos trial

from angrynews, 20 January 2010:

from Greek daily Kathimerini

'An extra 700 police officers will be on duty in the town of Amfissa as the trial is due to start today of two policemen charged in connection with the fatal shooting of teenager Alexis Grigoropoulos in central Athens in December 2008.

Police have also set up checkpoints on the three roads that lead into the town, located some 200 kilometers north of Athens, amid fears that anarchists or even urban guerrillas might try to disrupt proceedings.

Officers from Athens, as well as members of the anti-terrorist squad, have been in Amfissa since last week preparing the security measures for the trial of special guard Epaminondas Korkoneas, charged with shooting the 15-year-old, and his colleague Vassilis Saraliotis, accused of being an accessory.

The trial was moved to Amfissa from Athens because of security concerns and despite the repeated complaints of Grigoropoulos’s mother, Gina Tsakalian, who has expressed fears that some witnesses will not be able to attend the hearings.

A number of businesses in Amfissa have adopted extra security measures, such as installing metal window blinds. “Whoever could afford it has stepped up security,” said the head of the local traders’ association Chrysoula Matatana. “The police have assured us there is nothing to worry about.

Whether store owners open their shops is another matter.” Deputy Mayor Dimitris Provias was hopeful that normal life would not be disrupted. “All the roads will be open and parking will only be banned around the courthouse,” he said.'

[original article]

++++

Alfredo & Christos in prison transfer to Korydallos prison, Athens

Click for full image

from 325, 16 January 2010:

Alfredo Maria Bonanno and Christos Stratigopoulos, anarchists imprisoned in Greece accused of carrying out a bank robbery, have been moved from Amfissa prison to the Korydallos prison of Athens. Alfredo was throughout the move in handcuffs, and Christos without, also the bag of Alfredo was ‘lost’ in transit by the screws.

More updates to come- from the 20th Jan 2010 there will be a legal decision over the question of them coming out of the prison on bail before the upcoming trial.

Never give up - Never give in.

[original article]

Bookmark/Search this post with:

delicious | digg | reddit | newsvine | furl | google | yahoo | technorati