Trial of 42 suspects…
There was a heavy police presence at the main appeals court in Athens yesterday for the opening day of the trial of 42 suspects from the Cretan village of Zoniana, reputed to be a hive of illegal activity, including gun running, drug dealing and money laundering. Some of the accused are also being tried in connection to the shooting of a police officer during a raid in November 2007. ‘They are not people; they ought to be ashamed,’ said Yiannis Lazaridis, the father of special guard Stathis Lazaridis, who has been left paralyzed from the neck down by the attack. Only 27 of the 42 suspects appeared in court to face charges yesterday.
