In Brief
GRIGOROPOULOS
Proceedings delayed again after prosecutor’s spouse dies The trial yesterday of two policemen charged in connection with the December 2008 shooting of teenager Alexis Grigoropoulos was suspended until next Wednesday, February 3, following the unexpected death of the public prosecutor’s husband. It was the second postponement of the trial which began on January 20. It remained unclear yesterday whether prosecutor Vassiliki Vlachou would be in a position to resume her duties on Wednesday. If she is unable and a new prosecutor is appointed then the trial, which is being held in Amfissa, a small town some 200 kilometers northwest of Athens, may be delayed once again. BOMB HOAX Caller targets Kotzia Sq bank Police yesterday evacuated a branch of National Bank in central Kotzia Square after an anonymous caller telephoned police to claim that a bomb had been planted there. Officers cordoned off surrounding roads and bomb disposal experts were sent to investigate but no suspicious devices were found. The farce is one in a long string of bomb hoaxes that followed a bloodless blast outside Parliament on January 9. The explosion outside Parliament caused minimal damage and no injuries but shocked authorities as it occurred in a supposedly well-guarded location. It was subsequently claimed by the increasingly active Conspiracy of the Cells of Fire and another lesser-known terror group. ISAP disruptions The section of the Kifissia-Piraeus electric railway (ISAP) between Irini and Kifissia will be out of service tomorrow, Sunday January 31, as renovation works get under way. A replacement bus line (X5) will be in service but passengers are warned that using it will add considerable time to their journey. The section of the ISAP route between Kallithea and Faliro stations is closed until April 1. For additional information, passengers can telephone 210.329.3000. Cocaine haul Police at Athens International Airport yesterday were questioning a 33-year-old Greek man after reportedly discovering more than three kilograms of cocaine concealed in his luggage. The suspect, said to be a resident of Halkida, central Greece, arrived at Athens Airport early in the morning from the Czech Republic but had been in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas before that, according to police, who believe he might be a member of a Latin American drug-trading racket. Bus wagons Officials of the state-run Hellenic Railways Organization (OSE) are said to have begun talks with representatives of several European suppliers with the aim of procuring dozens of special wagons for the transportation of buses and coaches that are having to take long diversions because of the closure in the Vale of Tempe. A key section of the Athens-Thessaloniki national road in the valley in central Greece, shut following a fatal landslide on December 18, is to remain closed to traffic for at least another three months in order for the necessary repairs to be carried out.
