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The Athens District Court failed again to hear the case that shook the Greek public hours before the opening of the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004 after being postponed six times.

This time it was suspended at the request of the defence due to non-attendance of many of the key witnesses of the doubtful accident, which both the Olympic champions Ekaterina Thanou and Kostas Kenteris claim to have suffered shortly before the start of the biggest sporting event six years and a half ago.

Today, Christos Tsekos - their coach, and seven doctors from the hospital to which the athletes were taken appeared before the three-member court.

Kostas Kenteris’ defender said this case was very serious and attracted the interest of the whole world because "it involved persons causing shivers of delight to all Greeks." Michalis Dimitrakopulos said he would not accept in any way to read the testimony of the defendants if not all the witnesses were present. Ekaterina Thanou’s defender supported this request but those of the doctors strongly opposed another continuance.

The prosecutor suggested the case be suspended so that witnesses which despite the calls failed to appear for questioning, and others who were not summoned by the court previously to be called. The court ruled the case be heard on January 21.

After the court decision had been announced the coach Christos Tsekos said: "We hope the case will be heard on January 21 to reveal the truth. We have been waiting so many years to say what we have to say. I will tell you that the athletes went to the hospital, i.e. everything that happened. We know we are innocent. We did not do anything wrong. Our main goal was to make great sportsmen of our country. This is what we have believed all those years and we will defend our position."

The famous lawyer Michalis Dimitrakopulos representing the sprinter Kostas Kenteris said that his client "will probably lead the most important battle of his life to prove his innocence and to show at the same time that the people who made personal careers on his back should be in the dock, not Kostas Kenteris."  

Hours before the opening of the Olympic Games in Athens the Greek public watched the TV thriller of the two athletes who crashed with motorcycle on their way to the Olympic Village. Ekaterina Thanou and Kostas Kenteris were taken to the traumatic hospital where they stayed several days for treatment. The International Olympic Committee, however, doubted the accident because the two athletes had to be sampled for doping control. Early the following morning they made a news release from the hospital, containing information about the injuries that Kenteris and Thanou received during the crash.  

The sprinters are charged with false testimony and false oath. Both offenses are related to the notorious crash on August 12, 2004. The first concerns the conditions under which the defendants have described how the accident occurred, and the injuries it caused.

The second relates to "water" or "oil", which according to Kenteris’ testimony, was on the road surface when the motorcycle fell. The specific accusation that has been made to the athletes and their coach is described in the indictment as follows: "During the police investigation and the interrogation regarding the specific incident he as a witness falsely stated to representatives of the police, blaming third, unknown persons, that there was water or oil on the road which resulted in the motorcycle falling and he and his companion were injured. So, unknown third parties have inadvertently offended transport security and caused physical injuries, something that has not happened, of course."

Furthermore, athletes are accused of inciting misconduct in violation of official duties and issuing false statements by seven doctors from the hospital. The coach is charged with supply, import and production of illicit substances to improve the state of athletes during competition. Christos Tsekos’ defenders plan to repel the specific charges, arguing that the substances found in his office have been banned by ministerial order issued long after the time of purchase, and that the expiry date had expired when the police found them.

The seven doctors from the hospital are accused of breach of their duties and three of them are accused of issuing false statements to the athletes. The first hospital bulletin issued on August 13, 2004, which was signed by then-director of the hospital, mentioned cranial injuries for Kenteris and fractures for Thanou. However, the injuries were not confirmed by the forensic doctor Filipos Koutsaftis who examined them a day later.

Two "witnesses" of the accident are in the dock for false oath and false testimony.

It is worth noting that under the law the acts described in the indictment become void by prescription eight years after their execution. This means that the court will not be entitled to make claims to the criminal defendants after August 2012.