Summary
| Date: | 27 May 2024 |
| Location: | 1st Mixed Court of Appeal of Athens, Room D120D, 6th 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: | Defendants’ pleas |
| Composition of the court: | President: Alexandra Vasilakakos Judges: Dimitrios Oikonomou, Ioanna Chatzaki Jurors: Asimakopoulou, Athanasopoulou, Kotsopoulou, Kourou Prosecutor: Stylianos Kostarellos |
Day 17 – 27 May 2024
The procedure started at 09:35, with both defendants present.
The president asked if the witness Spiliopoulou proposed by the defense would appear, however the advocate Glykas informed that it was not possible and so the court proceeded to hear the pleas of the two defendants.
Plea of the accused Spyridon Dimopoulos
The 80-year-old owner of the jewelry store stood by his original claim, that he had been away from his shop for a while, locking the door with a remote control, in order to go to a kiosk in Kanigos Square to buy a newspaper, and when he returned, he saw people gathered outside from the store, with the window still intact and Zacharias Kostopoulos inside the store.
The defendant was unable to explain, in successive clarifying questions asked by the district attorney, Stylianos Kostarellos, the mechanism with which the door was closed. The defendant sometimes claimed that if the door was closed with the magnet system no one could get in or out, and sometimes that Zak Kostopoulos could have opened it and gotten in with a strong push. The victim’s father burst out shouting “A magical door it was!” at this point.
Regarding the events that followed, the accused insisted that the upper part of the window was broken by the victim, with the fire extinguisher, admitting however that he himself threw a stone at him from outside, but without remembering what is clearly seen in the video, that the fire extinguisher fell down from Zak’s hands. Regarding the kicks, he claimed, as he did in the first instance court, that he was carried with the actions of the accused Chortarias. He said that he did not hear shouts from the crowd to stop, nor does he remember the intervention of K.F., adding that his purpose was to keep the victim inside the store, until the police came.
Plea of the accused Athanasios Chortarias
The accused Chortarias, owner of a real estate office in Gladstonos Street, placed himself in the company of the witness P.N. at the restaurant at the time when he heard what he described as a deafening noise and then glass breaking. He then saw people gathered outside the jewelry store. He described that the top of the display case was already broken when he approached, and that “out of altruism”, he wanted to clean the glass so that Zacharias Kostopoulos would not be cut. He described the victim as hitting the glass with his head to break it and get out. He particularly insisted on the claim that his own kicks did not hit the victim.
Characteristically, he insisted that he believed that the victim had killed himself, possibly at the hands of the police. He presented that it was a great surprise for him that he “found himself involved”, describing his indictment as an “injustice”.
After the completion of the defendants’ pleas, the court adjourned until the next hearing, 30 May 2024, when the prosecutor will make his proposal.
The full text of our transcript from the courtroom (in Greek) :