Athens prosecutor Panayiotis Poulios yesterday ordered an investigation into press reports that the Capital Market Commission has not penalized three stock brokerages that allegedly sold overpriced bonds to pension funds. In a written statement to Parliament, three main opposition PASOK MPs asked judicial authorities to look into why the market watchdog had not taken any action against the three firms whereas another firm, Acropolis, had already been shut down for its alleged role in the sale of overpriced bonds.

Authorities have arrested five people, two in Sparta, southern Greece, and another three in Germany, for allegedly operating a racket that sold codes providing free access to cable television channels. The group is believed to have hacked into a software system and obtained codes that enabled users to view the private television stations. Police said the fraud is believed to have resulted in a loss of more than half a million euros for the cable network in the last three months. Two more people are wanted in connection with the scam in Thessaloniki, police added.

The Bridge, a quarterly review of Southeast European and Mediterranean affairs that will be available free with Tuesday’s Kathimerini English Edition, will focus on the politicoeconomic relationship between the European Union and the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) group on the occasion of the 15 years since the establishment of the BSEC. This issue of the Bridge features an interview with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

The Bridge looks at the emerging Black Sea region

Supreme Court prosecutor Fotis Makris yesterday recommended that judges turn down a request by the public prosecutor’s office to extradite Javed Aslam, head of the Pakistani Unity Organization, to Islamabad on human-trafficking charges. Pakistan has requested the extradition, alleging that Aslam was involved in smuggling illegal immigrants into Greece, but his supporters claim he is being targeted because he spoke out against an alleged interrogation of Pakistani migrants in July last year. The Supreme Court is due to issue its ruling in about a week.

Police said yesterday that a 24-year-old Bulgarian woman believed to have escaped from her alleged abductors in Pefki, northern Athens, on Thursday was the victim of an international prostitution racket. Authorities said the woman had been locked in a hotel in the area of Astakos, central Greece, where she was forced into prostitution after being repeatedly raped and beaten. She was then brought to Athens earlier this week but managed to escape from her abductors by jumping out of their car and calling for help. A 45-year-old man, a Greek national, in Astakos has been arrested in connection with the incident.

A lawyer and a forensic surgeon in Iraklion, Crete, were yesterday charged with issuing a drug dealer with medical documents classifying him as an addict so he could receive a lighter jail sentence. The two suspects allegedly received 4,500 euros for their services. Both deny the charges. A magistrate released the pair on bail and prohibited their departure from the country until their case is heard.

Officials from the Greek and British culture ministries met in London yesterday to discuss the issue of the Parthenon Marbles, which are currently housed at the British Museum but whose return to Greece has long been sought by Athens. A Greek official described the talks, which took place in the presence of two UNESCO officials, as “exploratory.” The two delegations are to meet again in Paris on June 4.

A farmer in Nemea, northern Peloponnese, yesterday found human body parts in an irrigation channel, police said. An arm and parts of a pelvis were initially found by the farmer, while a police search of the area revealed more human limbs. Authorities believe that the find may be related to the case of an elderly man who recently went missing in Nemea.