NEWS

Prison guards charged with torture death

A prosecutor Tuesday brought criminal charges against nine prison employees, including the warden of Nigrita jail in northern Greece where the body of a 42-year-old Albanian inmate was found in his cell, covered in bruises, last week.

Eight employees of Nigrita prison were charged with torturing Ilie Kareli, who was beaten on the soles of his feet and electrocuted, according to a coroner’s report. The warden of the jail was charged as an accomplice.

Kareli had been transferred to Nigrita Prison from Malandrino jail in central Greece early last week after fatally stabbing a prison officer there. Kareli was transferred for his own safety, according to the Justice Ministry.

He was placed in solitary confinement at Nigrita and found dead a few days later. Guards at Malandrino claimed the 42-year-old had borne no injuries when he left their custody. But authorities at Nigrita claimed to have noticed bruises on his body when he arrived there.

To Vima daily on Tuesday quoted unnamed sources as saying that “everything happened at Nigrita,” noting that the guards at Malandrino had used force “within legal boundaries.” Those sources said it was almost certain that the 42-year-old sustained his injuries after being taken into a room at Nigrita Prison by guards as soon as he arrived there.

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