Victims’ families judge the trial of November 17
As the «mother of all trials» finally draws to an end, the widows, mothers, daughters and sons of the victims who have filled the courtroom over the past nine months await the sentencing of those convicted of killing their loved ones. Soon the prison gates will close once and for all on the 15 people found guilty of a total of 912 crimes. The victims’ families, both Greeks and foreigners, included their sons and daughters, who were just children at the time. «Every March 1, a white wreath will always be placed at the bus stop where they killed Alexandros Athanassiadis, who had opened his car window and smiled at his attackers, thinking they wanted to ask him something,» said his daughters Alexandra and Emmanuella. Then there are the children of Michalis Vranopoulos, the National Bank of Greece governor who was shot by Dimitris Koufodinas as Vranopoulos asked him: «Why are you killing me?» Athens Mayor Dora Bakoyianni, widow of the murdered parliamentary deputy Pavlos Bakoyiannis, said that justice had spoken. «However, we cannot forgive. There are some things that cannot be tolerated, no matter how strong one’s nerves are,» she said.
