Yiossakis asks to be set free
The lawyers of former priest Iakovos Yiossakis and monk Kyrillos Stavropoulos yesterday claimed their clients’ human rights were being breached after a Piraeus court trying them for antiquities theft refused to release them. Yiossakis, who has been linked to a trial-fixing ring and is facing separate charges of fraud and money laundering, has been charged with Stavropoulos and another man with stealing artifacts in 1996 from a monastery on Kythera. Experts have estimated the value of the items which were allegedly stolen to be just under 26,000 euros. The defendants’ lawyers argued yesterday that this means their clients should only face misdemeanor charges, which have a five-year statute of limitations. The prosecutor said that an appeals court judges’ council should rule on the matter. The three judges said they were note in a postion to issue a ruling and adjourned court until January 16.
