Medical checks for crime boss
Convicted crime boss Panayiotis Vlastos was taken to hospital yesterday to undergo medical tests after falling more than 5 meters from a helicopter during a thwarted attempt to break out of Trikala Prison in central Greece on Sunday. According to sources, Vlastos had a CAT scan, X-rays and various other tests before being returned to the prison escorted by armed police officers. The pilot who flew the helicopter used in the foiled escape attempt was to face a prosecutor yesterday while the underground boss’s two suspected accomplices – a Greek, 30, and a Romanian, 31 – were given an extension to prepare their defense and are to face an investigating magistrate today.
Case review.
New Democracy MPs were among those who yesterday rejected a draft law prepared by Justice Minister Antonis Roupakiotis that would oblige Greek courts to review cases for which the European Court of Justice had issued rulings challenging verdicts arrived at by judges in Greece. Independent Greeks and Golden Dawn lawmakers also opposed the bill. “The ECJ’s rulings cannot and should not lead to rulings by national courts being immediately canceled,” said ND deputy Tasos Nerantzis.
Farmers’ rally.
Unionists representing farmers who have been seeking tax breaks and other concessions from the government decided yesterday to suspend roadside blockades across the country until March 5, when farmers are to hold a nationwide protest. It remained unclear what form this protest would take. Earlier in the day farmers had clashed with riot police at the Athens-Thessaloniki highway’s Nikaia junction when some of the protesters attempted to block several sections of the road. Police fired tear gas to disperse the farmers, who responded by throwing stones. There were no reports of any injuries.
Kouris cleared.
A first instance court in Athens has cleared Andreas Kouris, chairman of the Real Media SA company that owns Avriani newspaper and the now-defunct Alter TV channel, of any culpability in connection to one of the station’s unpaid social security bills. The court deemed late on Monday that Kouris was a non-executive member of the Alter board when the 1.4million-euro debt was created. In January, Kouris received a suspended four-month jail sentence over 9 million euros of outstanding social security contributions. A court also cleared Eleni Tegopoulou, the sister of former Eleftherotypia owner Mania Tegopoulou, with regard to the newspapers social security bill. The court accepted that Eleni Tegopoulou was a non-executive board member and asked that her sister be investigated.
High school exams.
University entrance exams will start on May 17, the Education Ministry said yesterday.