Demonstration at Greek Embassy against unjust treatment of Andrew Symeou
January 07 2010
For Immediate Release
A protest seeking justice for Andrew Symeou (s student from Enfield) will be held at 10.30am on Saturday 9 January outside the Greek Embassy. Andrew’s family, Fair Trials International and other supporters are calling for an end to Andrew’s unjustified detention in a high-security Greek jail; for a trial date to be set so Andrew can clear his name; and for an urgent inquiry into the allegations that Greek police mistreated witnesses and fabricated evidence.
Jago Russell, Chief Executive of Fair Trials International, said:
“Andrew has already been held for months in a Greek jail without any opportunity to clear his name. We are urging Greece to bring this family’s unjustified ordeal to an end, to release Andrew on bail and to investigate the serious allegations of police misconduct.”
Despite serious flaws in the case against him, in July of last year British courts ordered Andrew’s extradition to Greece under a European Arrest Warrant. Andrew, who has been refused bail on the grounds that he is not a Greek national, is now being held in the infamous maximum security Korydallos Prison. A date for his trial is yet to be set by the Greek courts.
For more information please contact Ryan Flynn on 020 7762 6400 or 0788 546 6206
Notes to Editors
The Demonstration
- The demonstration will be held on Saturday 9th January 2010 outside the Greek Embassy in London at 10.30am. The address of the Greek Embassy is 1A Holland Park, London, W11 3TP.
- Andrew’s family and Fair Trials International are not asking for Andrew to circumvent the Greek legal process but will deliver a letter to the Prime Minister of Greece asking him to ensure:
a) Andrew is released on bail pending trial.
b) A trial date is set within the next two months as originally indicated by the Investigating Magistrate in Zakynthos in July 2009.
c) There is a serious investigation into the conduct of the Laganas police department in their preparation of the investigation into the death of Jonathan Hiles, and in particular their attempts to manipulate and fabricate evidence implicating Andrew Symeou.
Background
- Andrew is a 20 year old British man from Enfield in North London. In July 2007, he went on holiday with friends to Zante, Greece. While Andrew was staying in Zante another young British man, Jonathan Hiles, fell off an unguarded stage platform in a night-club, became unconscious and tragically died two days later from his head injury. Andrew is accused of having struck Mr Hiles and caused him to fall. But Andrew is adamant that he was not even in the night-club at the time – and many witnesses have since confirmed this.
Flawed Investigation
- Two of Andrew’s friends were interviewed by Greek police after Andrew himself had left Zante. These young men have reported that they were subjected to brutal treatment by the police, who held them for 8 hours without food or water. While in custody they were beaten, punched, slapped and threatened by the officers until they gave statements implicating Andrew. They immediately retracted the statements on their release and informed consular officials about the treatment they received.
- Mistaken identity: Witnesses to the incident describe the attacker as tall and blonde with scarred skin. Andrew is black-haired and had a beard and a moustache.
- A criminal complaint was launched in late 2009 claiming that Greek police fabricated evidence and lied under oath in order to frame Andrew. There is strong evidence that witness statements were manufactured by Zante police. The same police officers were reported as taking statements in two different places at the same time and witnesses gave word-for-word identical statements. CCTV footage showing those involved in the incident leaving the nightclub has also been deleted and is not available to use in Andrew’s defence.
Transfer to a Maximum Security Prison pending trial
- In December Andrew was transferred from a Young Offenders Institution to Korydallos prison, a maximum security facility, having recently turned 21 years of age. Previously described by Amnesty as the worst prison in Europe, last year a British man, David Daubney, was found dead in Korydallos prison. The European Court of Human Rights has condemned the prison conditions at Korydallos as degrading and inhumane
Denial of Bail
- Fair Trials International has lodged an urgent application to the European Court of Human Rights claiming that Greece’s handling of Andrew Symeou’s case is in violation of European law. According to the application, Greece’s refusal to grant Andrew bail on the grounds he is not a Greek national is discriminatory and in breach of the European Convention of Human Rights.
Further Reading