Summary
| Date: | 16 April 2024 |
| Location: | 1st Mixed Court of Appeal of Athens, Room D70A, 1st floor |
| Access: | The hearing is open to the public without restrictions. Photojournalists are not allowed to cover the trial. |
| Defendants in attendance: | Spyridon Dimopoulos, owner of the jewelry store Athanasios Chortarias, owner of a real estate office |
| Process: | Evidence review Witnesses for the defense |
| Composition of the court: | President: Alexandra Vasilakakos Judges: Dimitrios Oikonomou, Ioanna Chatzaki Jurors: Asimakopoulou, Athanasopoulou, Kotsopoulou, Kourou Prosecutor: Stylianos Kostarellos |
Day 13 – 16 April 2024
The process started at 09:27.
Evidence review
After the reading and review of the documents and evidence of the case file was completed in the previous hearing, the president requested the presentation of the readable documents from the counsel in support of the prosecution. Defense attorney Anagnostopoulos, for the defendant Dimopoulos, raised objections to the screening of the video that accompanies the report of the Forensic Architecture research center. Furthermore, publications related to the facts of the case, as well as relevant announcements from institutions, were submitted.
Subsequently, documents were presented for the defense of the accused, among them regarding the health problems of the accused Dimopoulos, as well as his participation in charity actions. The Dimopoulos defense presented further documents and literature regarding the claim of an earlier onset of an ischemic event in the victim.
Chortarias’s defense also produced documents and literature on the subjects of pathologic anatomy, sudden deaths due to liver disease, and the like. He also presented an article from the well-known fascist newspaper “Stochos”, with the aim of tarnishing the character of the victim, while prints from social media were also presented with the aim of insulting the lawyer supporting the accusation, which the court rejected.
The Chortarias’s defense submitted an opinion from medical forensics and toxicology professor Hara Spiliopoulou, which reportedly supports the defendants’ claims regarding other causes of death.
The review of readable documents was completed with some more documents on the personality of the accused and the court moved to the phase of defense witnesses.
Witnesses for the defense
The defense witnesses who appeared were all relatives and family friends of the accused Athanasios Chortarias, including a retired rear admiral of the navy and a retired officer of the police, who testified as character witnesses, referring to positive aspects of his personality, while they admitted not having any knowledge of the facts around the events in question.
The court adjourned at 13:10 for the next hearing on 24 April 2024
The full text of our transcript from the courtroom (in Greek) :
