NEWS

Bid for ELA trial break is rejected

The trial of five alleged Revolutionary Popular Struggle (ELA) terrorists will proceed without further major interruption after judges rejected a defense bid yesterday to have the process deferred until after the Olympics. The demand had been submitted by lawyers representing Christos Tsigaridas, 66, the only ELA suspect to have admitted a link with the group, who claimed that judges would be under less pressure to convict after the August 13-29 Games. Other defendants opposed the idea. The court also agreed to allow prosecution witness Vassilis Zissis, a journalist, to table documents that allegedly came from the Stasi archives that ostensibly prove a link between the former East German secret police and some of the defendants – as well as with PASOK, the Greek Communist Party (KKE) and two Greek businessmen. However, it has not been decided whether the documents will be accepted as evidence. Defense lawyers promptly called for the leaders of PASOK and KKE to testify in court, together with businessmen Socrates Kokkalis and Nikolaos Kioleidis.

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