Mylonas tells of ordeal as kidnap trial starts
Thessaloniki-based industrialist Giorgos Mylonas explained yesterday how he had asked his kidnappers to kill him but not harm his family, after becoming convinced that his abduction in June 2008 would end in bloodshed. Mylonas was appearing in court for the first day of the trial of three of the four suspects accused of holding him hostage for 13 days and only releasing him after a ransom of 10.8 million euros had been paid «We are sons of bitches and, if something goes wrong, we will kill you,» the group’s alleged leader Vassilis Palaiocostas told Mylonas, according to the businessman. Palaiocostas remains at large after escaping from jail for a second time last year. Two of the other three suspects, Polykarpos Georgiadis and Vangelis Chrysochoidis, admit to being members of the gang. The third suspect, Asimakis Lazaridis, denies taking part. The trial continues today.
