Six men get prison in Greece for death of American

ATHENS, Greece — Nine men arrested in the beating death of an American student outside a bar in Greece in 2017 were cleared of murder but convicted of assault charges Thursday.

A court in Patra, in western Greece, reduced the charges to grievous assault, handing six men sentences ranging from five to 15 years in prison and freeing three others after convicting them of simple assault for the brutal attack on the student, Bakari Henderson, 22, in the summer of 2017 on the holiday island of Zakynthos.

The verdict disappointed the parents of Henderson, who have said that they were hoping all the men would be sentenced to life in prison. The decision spurred Henderson’s parents to warn other Americans against allowing their children to visit Greece.

The attack on Bakari Henderson in July 2017 at the resort of Laganas was apparently prompted by an argument over a female bartender. Security footage captured a swarm of men kicking and punching Henderson, who was chased down the street.

The nine men charged with the beating were a British citizen of Serbian origin who worked as a bouncer at the bar where the brawl broke out, a Greek bartender and seven Serbian men. Their names were not immediately available.

The Briton received the heaviest penalty from the Greek court: 15 years in prison for intentional bodily harm resulting in death. Five of the Serbian suspects received terms of five to 10 years for causing grievous bodily harm.

Henderson, a college graduate from Austin, Texas, had been traveling in Greece and was working on a photography shoot for the opening of a clothing line when the attack occurred.