The mother of an 11-year-old boy who went missing in Veria, northern Greece, in February 2006 said yesterday that the trial of five schoolchildren accused of killing her son is her last chance to find out what happened to him.

Natela Ichuadze was the first witness called in the trial of five children – three Greeks, a Romanian and an Albanian aged between 14 and 15 – who face charges of murder and desecrating the dead. The 17-year-old brother of two of the children is also being tried.

Ichuadze explained to the juvenile court how she brought her son, Alex, to Greece from Georgia and how he had suffered bullying at school. She strenuously denied that his disappearance had anything to do with a pedophile ring.

“This trial is our last chance to find out where Alex is,” she told reporters. “My wish is for those who are guilty to be punished. This crazy situation cannot go on for years. They have to be locked up.”