Police being probed over deaths
With many questions still unanswered regarding the alleged killing of two police officers in northern Greece last Friday by a 23-year-old Russian, said to have committed suicide on Sunday night, Supreme Court prosecutor Dimitris Linos yesterday ordered urgent investigations to shed light on possible errors by police. Linos ordered two probes: the first into alleged oversights during the police transfer of Maxim Zhilim and the second into the exact circumstances of the Russian’s death, which remain unclear. Police say that regulations – which foresee the presence of at least as many officers as inmates during transfers – were not adhered to as Zhilim was being transferred along with two Albanian inmates by just two officers. Authorities have already suspended the head of the prisoner transportation service in Ioannina and the policeman who was on duty when the two officers were killed. But Ioannina prosecutor Theofanis Lioutas is to determine whether other officials should be punished as well. The second probe, to be conducted by Trikala prosecutor Eleni Kontaxi, is to clarify the circumstances of Zhilim’s death. Police say he was first spotted alive on Friday but his body was not found until Monday, when a coroner confirmed his suicide. Police Chief Giorgos Angelakos said Zhilim had probably resorted to suicide after enduring freezing temperatures and realizing he could not escape a huge manhunt. PASOK spokesman Nikos Athanassakis yesterday condemned the Public Order Ministry for failing to take a stance on «a matter related to citizens’ safety.» A Larissa coroner refused a request by the Russian Embassy for Zhilim’s body, saying procedures had yet to be completed.
