In Brief
PAPANASTASIOU
No bail for 19th November 17 suspect, council of judges says Anestis Papanastasiou, the last November 17 suspect to be detained pending trial, is to remain in prison following a ruling yesterday by the Council of Appeals Court Judges. The council also said the Thessaloniki bank employee should stand trial with the other 18 terrorism suspects as he is charged in connection with the same crimes. In his report to the council last week, appeals court prosecutor Kyriakos Karoutsos recommended that Papanastasiou, 41, should be released on bail of 3,000 euros pending trial on the general charge of participation in the left-wing group. NORTH KOREA Papandreou to lead EU mission next month to discuss arms program Foreign Minister George Papandreou, will lead an EU mission to North Korea next month amid a crisis over Pyongyang’s nuclear program, a Foreign Ministry official told the Agence France-Presse yesterday. The mission, which will also stop in South Korea, will aim to strengthen political dialogue between Seoul and Pyongyang. The trip will likely happen during February 11-12, but «the date is not yet definitive,» said the official. Papandreou will be joined by EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, who was initially scheduled to head the delegation, and External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten. (AFP) EXTORTION CLAIMS Angelopoulos re-summoned to testify An Athens prosecutor yesterday summoned businessman Theodoros Angelopoulos to testify for a second time in connection with allegations that journalists and extreme right-wingers extorted money from top businessmen on the pretext of removing them from November 17’s hit list. Angelopoulos first testified on January 15 in connection with an entry in the diary of his uncle – N17 victim Dimitris Angelopoulos – who said he had been told he was on N17’s hit list by right-wing publisher Grigoris Michalopoulos. Angelopoulos’s wife, Athens 2004 President Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, has also testified. Air space violations A total of 36 Turkish fighter jets yesterday entered the Athens Flight Information Region 14 times and in 12 cases violated Greek air space in the central and northern Aegean before being chased off by Greek aircraft. Toll charges Transport Minister Christos Verelis said yesterday he was opposed to the imposition of toll charges for drivers entering the center of Athens – recently advocated by Environment Minister Vasso Papandreou in order to alleviate traffic and encourage the use of public transport. Such charges would discriminate against poor citizens, he said. Museums closed The archaeological museums of Ioannina and Volos will be closed to visitors from tomorrow to allow for refurbishment, the Culture Ministry said yesterday. The archaeological museum of Chios is to reopen tomorrow, following the early completion of refurbishment works. IKA strike There will be no service at Social Security Foundation (IKA) offices today as administrative staff stage a 24-hour strike. Spy freed A Greek-Australian found guilty of stealing confidential state documents and giving them to a prostitute to sell to foreign governments will not go to jail after a Canberra judge decided he should receive therapy for psychological problems, the Athens News Agency reported yesterday. Simon Lappas, 27, a former intelligence analyst, received a suspended jail sentence of two years and a penalty of US$2,000 he will be obliged to pay if he does not show «exemplary behavior» after two years. Lappas claimed to have given documents to Sheryl Ellen Dowling, also 27, to help her start a new life. Contraband cigarettes Patras port authorities early yesterday confiscated 232,000 packets of contraband cigarettes hidden in a cargo of cotton seeds in the back of a truck and arrested the driver and passenger, the Merchant Marine Ministry said yesterday. The cargo had been bound for Italy, the ministry said.
