Youth dies in Athens precinct
Attica’s police chief yesterday ordered an internal investigation into the death in custody on Tuesday night of a young man who had been taken to an Athens precinct for identification. Aristidis Neophotistou, 24, was pronounced dead on arrival at the Aghia Olga hospital, where he was rushed by a patrol car from the Nea Philadelphia police station. Doctors said the young man had a broken nose, a bloodied tongue and bruising. Halkida resident Neophotistou had been standing outside a Nea Philadelphia car dealership with his friend Christos Mavrogiorgos, 37, when a police car drew up and officers asked them for identification. As the men had no ID cards on them, they were taken to the precinct to have their particulars checked. Police say Neophotistou suddenly ran amok and started banging his head on the precinct’s walls. Mavrogiorgos confirmed this, adding that his friend asked him to break his nose – to bring down his blood pressure. «I broke it for him,» he said. Neophotistou’s family dispute this version of the youth’s death. A postmortem will be held today.
