In Brief
POLICE PRESENCE
Minister calls for more officers to be sent out on street patrols Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos, who is now in charge of the former Public Order Ministry, urged police yesterday to establish a more visible presence in the communities they operate in. «It is not just a question of guarding but providing a service to society as a whole,» Pavlopoulos told the heads of police. «The physical presence of police forces must be as visible as possible.» The Public Order Ministry has been merged with that of the Interior. Although Pavlopoulos is in charge overall, Deputy Minister Panayiotis Hinofotis, the former chief of the armed forces, will be responsible for public order matters. Hinofotis pledged to do what he could to safeguard the morale of police officers. BEHIND BARS Convict caught after spending 15 years on the run following jail break A 42-year-old man who escaped from Tiryntha Prison in the Peloponnese more than 15 years ago has been arrested in Athens, police said yesterday. The unnamed convict had been sentenced to 14 years in jail for robbery and attempted murder. It was not clear how much of his sentence he had served before his escape in July 1992. Since escaping he is believed to have lived on a number of islands where he sought seasonal work. He was arrested in Neo Iraklion, northern Athens. INJURED POLICEMAN Officer begins recovery after beating A policeman who was severely beaten during a riot at a music concert in Athens this summer was yesterday moved to a rehabilitation center in Israel to continue his recovery. The unnamed officer suffered severe neurological injuries during the attack at Hellenikon, southern Athens, and has been left partially disabled. His rehabilitation is expected to take between three and six months. Safe seas The former chief of police, Fotis Nasiakos, was yesterday appointed head of security and crisis management at the Merchant Marine and Island Policy Ministry. Nasiakos will be in charge of matters involving human trafficking and drug smuggling as well as search and rescue operations in the Aegean. Apartment break-in Police arrested a 23-year-old Iraqi man yesterday in connection with a robbery at an apartment in Vrilissia, northern Athens, earlier this month. The unnamed suspect is alleged to have entered the property with an accomplice, tied and gagged the 17-year-old occupant after threatening him with a knife and then stolen a small safe, 2,000 Cypriot pounds in cash, a mobile phone and a laptop. Kiosk robbery An Albanian national appeared before a prosecutor yesterday accused of carrying out an armed robbery at a kiosk in Brahami, eastern Athens. The unnamed suspect and an accomplice allegedly threatened a kiosk owner with an air gun in order to force him to hand over his takings. The kiosk owner refused and was shot and slightly injured by his assailants. The Albanian man was apprehended by passers-by who saw the incident. Police said they are still looking for the other suspect. Bus accident Two people traveling in a bus were injured in Peristeri, western Athens, yesterday after the vehicle collided with a car, authorities said. While the two drivers were exchanging information, the bus’s hand brake failed, resulting in the vehicle rolling into a nearby electricity post. The bus knocked over the power pole which then fell onto two parked cars, police said. The passengers were taken to the Thriaseio hospital for treatment. Traffickers sentenced A court handed an eight-year-and-10 month jail sentence to two men, aged 23 and 27, found guilty of smuggling 28 illegal immigrants into the country last week. The men, both foreign nationals, were also fined a total of 37,500 euros for the human-trafficking operation. They were caught by the coast guard transporting 28 illegal immigrants to the coastal area of Louros on Kos. In a separate development, the coast guard detained 13 illegal immigrants, including four children, in the coastal area of Molyvos on Lesvos yesterday. The illegal immigrants told authorities they crossed over into Greece from Turkey and destroyed their boat after arriving.
