In Brief
SNAIL’S PACE
Court postpones trial of sprinters Kenteris and Thanou until next year The trial of sprinters Costas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou, who face charges of perjury, was yesterday postponed until June 18 next year. An Athens misdemeanor court put off the hearing after one of the defendants’ lawyers said he was unable to attend because of illness. Kenteris, Thanou, their former coach Christos Tzekos, seven doctors and two witnesses face charges of giving false statements in connection with a motorcycle crash the two athletes were allegedly involved in on the eve of the 2004 Athens Olympics as they raced to a doping test. The sprinters spent four days in hospital after the alleged crash and did not take part in the Games. Thanou made a comeback to the track earlier this year. IMMIGRANTS DROWN Bodies of four migrants pulled out of the sea near Samos and Chios The bodies of four illegal immigrants, including a child, were recovered off the islands of Samos and Lesvos yesterday, local coast guard officials said. A man and a child died, while seven others were rescued, after a wooden boat carrying would-be migrants from Turkey sank off Samos early yesterday amid gale-force winds. Also yesterday, the bodies of two more migrants were recovered off Lesvos. Officials on Samos, Lesvos and Kos yesterday detained a further 70 illegal immigrants. Coast guard vessels and a helicopter continued to search for one more person still believed missing off Samos. ALEX CASE Boy, 13, alters testimony again One of the five schoolboys accused of murdering 11-year-old Alex Meshivili in Veria, northern Greece, last year, changed his testimony yesterday and told judges in Thessaloniki that he knew nothing about the child’s disappearance. The unnamed boy, 13, has now changed his testimony four times, having previously given authorities details of how Alex died and what happened to his body. The 13 people, including the schoolboys’ parents and other relatives, who have been implicated in Alex’s disappearance were called before the Council of Appeals Court Judges in Thessaloniki yesterday to clarify their testimony. The judges are expected to decide over the next few days who should stand trial. Civil protection Retired air marshal Margaritis Mouzas was named the new head of the Civil Protection Agency yesterday. Mouzas, 56, takes over from Panayiotis Fourlas who resigned last week. Security breached Two 40-year-old men were yesterday charged with breaching state security after allegedly posting on the Internet military maps detailing the positions of Greek army units and munitions warehouses. Police said that 290 maps were found on the suspects’ computers after raids on properties in Athens and Volos, central Greece. The accused claimed someone at military headquarters in Athens gave them the maps. Authorities said that their claims were being investigated. Pakistani murder Police arrested two men in connection with the murder of a Pakistani man whose body was found in the Ano Liosia landfill in northwest Athens last week. The two suspects, both Pakistani nationals, shared an apartment with the victim in Aegaleo, western Athens, and are believed to have stabbed the victim to death with a kitchen knife after quarreling with him. They then allegedly wrapped his body in a sheet and placed it in a dumpster. Crooked cop A Thessaloniki police officer, who allegedly sought to receive a 700 percent interest repayment on a loan made to a local woman, is to be tried on blackmail charges. The unnamed officer and a lawyer who faces the same charges were both arrested in September 2003 after accepting cash in marked bills. Armed robbery Two armed men held up a branch of Alpha Bank at Nea Moudania in Halkidiki, northern Greece, yesterday, making off with 15,000 euros in cash, police said. OKANA resignation The president of Greece’s Organization Against Drugs (OKANA), Constantinos Ballas, yesterday announced his resignation. The psychiatrist and Athens University professor, cited personal reasons for stepping down, the organization said.
