Larissa court refuses to release ‘Maria’ couple
A council of appeals court judges in Larissa, central Greece, on Wednesday rejected an appeal for the release from pretrial custody of a Roma couple who have been in detention since a young blond girl called Maria was removed from their home in a camp in nearby Farsala in October.
The Roma couple were originally detained on charges of abducting the girl but a lawyer appealed for their release after DNA tests showed that the girl’s biological parents were a Bulgarian Roma couple who claimed to have given up their child in Greece.
The Farsala couple have the right to appeal again in two months time but lawyers are expected to request their conditional release.
