Greek police accused of framing Andrew Symeou
November 24 2009For Immediate Release
Greek police fabricated evidence and lied under oath in order to frame Andrew Symeou, according to a criminal complaint being filed by Andrew’s lawyer in Greece. Andrew, a 20 year old British man from Enfield, is accused of involvement in the tragic death of another young British man in a nightclub in Zante, Greece in 2007.
Jago Russell, Chief Executive of Fair Trials International, said:
“Andrew should not have been extradited on the basis of this fabricated evidence and flawed investigation. This young man has already spent four months in a Greek jail, and still no trial date is in sight.”
Despite serious flaws in the case against him, in July of this year British courts ordered his extradition to Greece under a European Arrest Warrant. Andrew remains in prison, having been twice refused bail on the grounds that he is not a Greek national.
Contact Ryan Flynn, on 020 7762 6400 or 07885 466 206
Notes to editors
- There is strong evidence that witness statements were manufactured by the police in Zante. Identical statements from different witnesses were recorded word-for-word and the same police officers claim to have taken the statements in different places at the same time. For example, in each of the five statements witnesses apparently said, “the perpetrator had shaved off his goatee on the day of the incident and had left only slightly long sideburns.”
- Two of the witnesses interviewed during the investigation claim to have been tortured 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. Upon their release, they immediately retracted the statements and informed consular officials about brutal treatment. In recent weeks they have travelled to Zante to explain their treatment to the judge investigating Andrew’s case.
- The Greek Judicial Authority denies a complaint of torture was ever made. In an email dated 8 August 2008 the Greek Judicial Authority stated:
“Please be advised that according to our records no formal complaint was submitted to the Greek authorities in connection with the treatments described by [two witnesses]”.
This directly conflicts with information received by Andrew’s family under the Freedom of Information Act, which reveals that the complaints of mistreatment were raised by British consular officials with the chief of Laganas Police on 27 July 2007.
- Other serious flaws in the evidence against Andrew include:
- 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.
- No attempt was ever made by the Greek authorities to get a statement from Andrew.
- CCTV footage showing those involved in the incident leaving the nightclub has been mysteriously deleted and is not available to use in Andrew’s defence. Were this CCTV evidence produced by the police, claims by multiple witnesses that Andrew was not present in the club at the time of the alleged incident could have been verified. Witnesses have stated that he was not in the nightclub at the time of the incident and only arrived 3 hours later.
- The investigating magistrate on the Greek Island of Zante denied Andrew Symeou’s first application for bail on 27 July 2009 on the grounds that he has no permanent address in Greece. Andrew filed an appeal against this decision which was not decided until 14 September 2009, leaving Andrew behind bars for a further two months without a review of his pre-trial detention.
- On appeal, the Judicial Council in Zante decided to deny Andrew bail as he is not a Greek resident. The Council also decided to refer the case to trial, however the reasoning provided in the judgement makes it clear that none of the defence arguments were considered by the panel and they made the decision to refer the case to trial on the basis of the prosecution’s submissions alone.
- It took one month for Greek authorities to deliver this latest bail decision, which was given to Andrew in prison directly, despite requests for a copy to be given to Andrew’s lawyer. The judgement was delivered in Greek alone and Andrew could not understand any of it. Andrew’s family has had to bear the costs of translating the document privately.
Further reading