In Brief
GRIGOROPOULOS HOLDUP
Policemen’s court case delayed after prosecutor withdraws The trial of the two policemen charged with being involved in the fatal shooting of teenager Alexis Grigoropoulos in December 2008 was suspended yesterday after the public prosecutor withdrew from the case due to the death of a relative. It is not known how long the trial will be suspended but the court in Amfissa, northwest of Athens, can either appoint new officials or file a request with the Supreme Court for the case to heard in the capital. Authorities had moved the trial to Amfissa because of security fears. Epaminondas Korkoneas, the policeman charged with shooting Grigoropoulos, was not in court yesterday as he was being treated in Korydallos Prison after complaining of depression. ABDUCTION BREAKTHROUGH Five held for June grab Police in Athens said yesterday that they had detained two Egyptian nationals, aged 32 and 35, and three Albanians, aged 27, 28 and 35, in connection with the kidnapping last June of the 74-year-old wife of a shipping firm owner from outside her home in the coastal suburb of Palaio Faliro. The two Egyptians are employees of the shipping firm, according to police, who said they were seeking another three Albanians, aged 29, 30 and 31, who are thought to have returned to their homeland after pocketing the 1.8-million-euro ransom paid by Aris Theodoridis to secure the release of his wife Evanthia Frangogiorgi. The kidnappers had detained the 74-year-old for a week before obtaining the ransom. Prison unrest Riot police officers were called in to Thessaloniki’s Diavata Jail to restore order yesterday, after attempts by prison staff to hand over a Russian inmate to police officers executing an extradition order prompted the vehement protests of around 40 Russian prisoners. Police said the riot officers fired tear gas but did not use force. Jail staff said the protesting inmates calmed down after the Russian inmate was removed. Intelligence move A bill that brings the National Intelligence Service (EYP) under the auspices of the Citizens’ Protection Ministry rather than the Interior Ministry was approved by Parliament late on Tuesday. Citizens’ Protection Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis said that it was important that one ministry be responsible for all the security services so there is better communication among them. Land register The public company responsible for running Greece’s first ever comprehensive land register, Ktimatologio SA, said yesterday that it has begun returning money to almost 80,000 applicants who overpaid fees when submitting their paperwork. The firm said that some 40 percent of the people concerned had already been repaid the outstanding amount. The company added that it has had trouble repaying some applicants because their bank details have not been recorded properly. It expects the process to be completed by April. Attica bishoprics A parliamentary committee yesterday approved plans for the Church of Greece to establish two new bishoprics in Attica. One will be located in the northern suburb of Kifissia and the other in Ilion, western Athens.
