Witness in Siemens bribery trial claims to have been assaulted
A key witness in the Siemens bribery scandal trial, the ex-secretary of former Siemens executive Michalis Christoforakos, has claimed to have fallen victim to a violent assault by an unidentified man, sources indicated late on Friday.
The woman, who was not identified, visited her local police precinct in Maroussi, north of Athens, on Wednesday, to report the attack. She said it had taken place earlier on the same day as she was taking out the trash, it emerged over the weekend.
The woman is in a witness protection program and had been assigned two police guards but, as part of recent cutbacks, one of the two officers had been relieved of his duties.
A police probe is under way to determine whether the alleged assault is linked to the Siemens probe.
A total of 64 people have been indicted to trial in connection with the Siemens bribery scandal.
Christoforakos is one of the suspects but he was arrested in Germany in 2009 and authorities there refused a Greek extradition request, as the former Siemens Hellas CEO also has a German passport and judges deemed that the charges he faces have expired under the statute of limitations.
