BLOG_ALL UPDATES

DAY 63: TRIAL RECESSED FOR JUNE 3RD

63rd Hearing, Women’s Wing, Korydallos Prison, Athens, May 30th, 2016

1. Access to the Court

The courtroom remains open to the public upon presentation of a state ID card, which is retained by court authorities for the duration of the session. No spectators were present at this hearing except for a few relatives of the victims and some members of the press.

2. Presence and representation of the defendants

Present at the start of the proceedings were 6 defendants. Absent was Roupakias, who has been under house arrest. Twenty-seven (27) defendants were recorded as absent, while the rest were represented by their counsels.

3. Proceedings

In today’s proceedings the court discussed the matter of the preparation of defense counsels Stamatia Markou-Nikolopoulou (for Aggos) and Chronis Mavroeidis (for Stabelos), who were appointed by the court during the previous hearing, on June 26th. The newly appointed defense counsels asked for a two-month trial recess to familiarize themselves with the case files. The presiding judge decreed that 5 days is a quite sensible period of time for the defense counsels to get prepared, and adjourned for Friday, June 3rd.

The presiding judge also blamed the chief of the three-member administrative council of the Athens Court of Appeals, Mr. Davros, for approving only 5 court dates for the month of June, instead of 10, which had been the norm, despite her constant appeals to speed up the procedure. The court dates for the month of June are the following: 3, 9, 13, 24, and 28 of June. The presiding judge also mentioned the negligence of the leadership of the Ministry of Justice regarding the matter of the transfer of the trial to another location, which has not been seen to despite her repeated applications since April 2015.

The presiding judge adjourned for Friday, June 3rd, at 09:00.

RECENT UPDATES

ARCHIVE