Galery

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The tension during the court sitting on the Grigoropoulos case led to the interference of the police. This happened at the moment when Aleksis Kugias – lawyer of the accused of murder in the first degree Epaminondas Korkoneas asked the court to call and testify as witnesses the coevals of Alexis. They were together with the victim at the day of his death and they watched the water polo game in the swimming pool in the Halandri neighborhood.

As a protection of these statements Kugias offered the presentation of a video material and said: “These 16 years old children are not like yours and ours”. At this moment the mother of one of the boys – witness in the case could not manage her anger and screamed at Kugias: “How do you know my child? What are you talking?” The police had to interfere and calm down the angry mother. The lawyers of the family Grigopoulos also reacted sharply to the words of Kugias. According to them there was an attempt to transfer the weight of the case from the defendant to the victim. “Are we going to accuse Grigopoulos of troublemaking at a sports geme?”, asked Hristos Milonopoulos, lawyer of the family of the victim.

“Anybody heard us saying he was taking part in these incidents?”, answered Kugias and added: “We have information, he was there”. As a response the court announced that in the course of the case if there comes a necessity there will be presented materials related to the troublemaking in Halandri.  

After the delivery of the indictment of Korkoneas, Kugias stated that his client claims that he has not murdered anybody. The incident was a tragic coincidence. Korkoneas tried to prevent the creation of a dangerous situation and shot in the air. The ones who attacked him were the victims and the witness.

The accused of murder in the first degree of the 15 years old boy Epaminondas Korkoneas said: “I don’t accept the death of any man. In the difficult moment came this result. I do not accept it. I want to encourage the mother and myself. This is a difficult process many things will be said here about him and about me.” His colleague Vasilis Saraliotis announced in front of the court he does not accept the accusation of participation in the crime. “I am innocent and this will be proved”, were his words.

The case continued with the testimony of his mother of the victim Jina Tsalikian, who two days ago was not present at the court room due to the decay in the health condition of her mother, who recently had an operation in a hospital in the capital. “My chilled was killed twice”, said the mother. “Once by the murderer and once by the whole attempt to besmirch his memory and his name. They killed his body and his soul”, continues the mother. Mrs. Tsalikian described her child as gentle and shy kid. His behavior at school was a model and he never created troubles. In the day of his murder the victim was going to at lunch time at the water pool game. After the game Alexandros called her and told her that he was with a friend in  Ekzarhia and they arranged for her to pick him up from there in order to go to the celebration of a friend of theirs. The two boys were staying at a coffee shop and when they heard the noise they went on the street to see what is going on. A group of youngsters, who at this time had caused a small riots were moving away from the place and the police was shouting and offending them. Then Alexandros turned to Korkoneas, who was cursing him and told him to go back. The boy answered: “Why, what are you going to do to me?”. “Now I will show you what I would do to you”, were the words of the policeman and after this he pulled out his gun and shot him. “This man”, says the mother “shot my child and then together with the other one he went back to the other policemen as if they didn’t do anything. The price of my child is as much as a cockroach to them. It is as if they stepped on a mouse on the road”.

The Grigoropoulos case started two days ago in Amfisa. Due to the absence of the lawyer of Korkoneas and the mother of the victim at the sitting the sitting of the court was dismissed and was appointed for today. The next sitting of the court will be the next Friday – January 29^th. The chairman of the jury asked for the presence of the court physician Hristos Lefkidis, as well as the friend of the victim, witness of the tragic incident.