{"id":805,"date":"2021-12-14T22:32:02","date_gmt":"2021-12-14T19:32:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zackieohjustice.watch\/uncategorized\/day-5-it-was-the-appropriate-and-mildest-process\/"},"modified":"2022-04-01T13:09:05","modified_gmt":"2022-04-01T10:09:05","slug":"day-5-it-was-the-appropriate-and-mildest-process","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zackieohjustice.watch\/en\/the-trial\/reports\/day-5-it-was-the-appropriate-and-mildest-process\/","title":{"rendered":"Day 5: \u201cIt was the most appropriate and benign approach\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Summary<\/h2>\n\n
Date:<\/td>14 December 2021<\/td><\/tr>
Location:<\/td>Athens Court of First Instance, Degleri street, courtroom #2<\/td><\/tr>
Access:<\/td>Access to the courthouse was limited due to measures against the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. No audience was allowed in the courtroom with the exception of the victim\u2019s family, six journalists, one representative of Amnesty International, one representative of the \u201cOrlando LGBTQI+\u201d group and two observers. Photojournalists are not allowed to cover the trial.<\/td><\/tr>
Defendants in attendance:<\/td>Athanasios Chortarias, owner of a real estate agencyVassilios Rousakos, police officer, Zeta GroupLeonidas Alexandris, police officer, Zeta GroupDavid Seferis, police officer, DIAS GroupIoannis Tsombanis, police officer, DIAS Group<\/td><\/tr>
Process:<\/td>Examination of witnesses<\/strong> from the list included in the referral order:– Petros Lagoudakos, pollice officer (DIAS)– Petros Athanasatos, police officer (Zeta)– Athanasios Kampras, police officer (\u0396) – Konstantinos Michailidis, police officer– Kosmas Kotridis, pollice officer (DIAS)– Kyriakos Falkas, police officer (DIAS)– Ioannis Aspiotis, police officer (DIAS)<\/td><\/tr>
Next hearings:<\/td>December 2021: 17 and 21January 2022: 18, 25 and 28<\/td><\/tr>
Composition of the court:<\/td>Judges:<\/em>Stavgianoudaki Eleana (chair)Efthimiou MariaMoraiti Eleni.Members of the jury:<\/em>PapatheodoropoulosTsimpourakiGeorgakiFiliProsecutor: Sotirios Bougioukos<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n

Report<\/h2>\n\n

Day 5 \u2013 14\/12\/2021 \u2013 Athens Court of First Instance, courtroom #2<\/h3>\n\n

The defendants in attendance were Athanasios Chortarias, owner of a real estate agency, and the 4 policemen, namely Vassilios Rousakos and Leonidas Alexandris of the Zeta Group, and David Seferis and Ioannis Tsombanis of the DIAS Group. Defendant Spyridon Dimopoulos, owner of the jewellery store, was represented by his lawyer.<\/p>\n\n

Restrictions to the public\u2019s access to the courtroom remain in place due to the measures against the spreading of the COVID-19 pandemic. Only relatives of the victim and the defendants were allowed in the courtroom, as well as 6 mass media journalists and observers from Amnesty International, the Orlando LGBTQI+ group and ZackieOh Justice Watch.<\/p>\n\n

Seven policemen testified to the court as witnesses on the 5th session of the trial. Three of them testified as the superior officers of the defendants whereas the other four were eyewitnesses who had participated in Zak\u2019s arrest together with the defendants.<\/p>\n\n

Request from the defense lawyers to expel journalist K. Poulis from the courtroom <\/h3>\n\n

During the witnesses\u2019 examination, lawyer Orfeas Filos representing defendant Athanasios Chortarias filed a request to the court to expel The Press Project journalist Konstantinos Poulis from the courtroom, based on the fact that, in a TPP broadcast, Poulis had used an expression that the lawyer deemed insulting. The court dismissed the request in accordance with the prosecutor\u2019s advice, as it had no bearing on the proceedings.<\/p>\n\n

Testimony of police officers who were not present during the facts<\/h3>\n\n

The first three police witnesses, namely officers Lagoudakos, Athanasatos and Kampras, had no direct knowledge of the events. Lagoudakos and Athanasatos testified as the superior officers of the police defendants, whereas Kampras had been summoned by the investigating magistrate to identify the policemen who can be seen using violence against Zak Kostopoulos on video material. All three witnesses testified that, from what they saw on the video, the actions of the police defendants were \u201cappropriate\u201d, citing either \u201cthe risk posed by the perpetrator\u201d (Lagoudakos, Athanasatos) or \u201cthe officers\u2019 high levels of adrenaline\u201d (Kampras).<\/p>\n\n

Police officers who operated together with the defendants<\/h3>\n\n

The next four witnesses, namely officers Michailidis, Kotridis, Falkas and Aspiotis, were present during the events as they operated together with the defendants. None of the four was charged despite the lawsuit filed by the Kostopoulos family.<\/p>\n\n

Witness Konstantinos Michailidis stated that he had been standing \u201ca few meters away\u201d while a first aid responder was bandaging Zak\u2019s head. He described how he saw that, while being immobilised, the victim \u201cresisted forcefully because he wouldn\u2019t listen to orders\u201d and how he found out that he later died on the way to the hospital. According to this witness, the policemen didn\u2019t investigate what had happened previously because \u201cpeople there said that he had cut himself on his own\u201d. He specified that he was referring to defendant Sp. Dimopoulos. Answering a question by defense lawyer E. Varela, he said that \u201cthe perpetrator was dangerous\u201d and mentioned a shard of glass, while further stating that \u201cwe handcuffed him following the best process.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

Similarly, witness Kosmas Kotridis stated that, after arriving on the scene, the officers were informed about what had happened by defendant Dimopoulos. He described the victim \u201crunning around with a shard of glass\u201d, said that he participated in his immobilisation for as to pry it from his hand and that he later found out that \u201cthe victim died after several hours\u201d. Answering a question from the prosecution team, he said that he didn\u2019t investigate why Zak Kostopoulos was in this state because \u201che was assaulting people with a shard of glass\u201d. Furthermore, to questions from defense lawyer Anagnostopoulos, he answered that Zak was \u201ca perpetrator who assaulted two people.\u201d To questions from defense lawyer Filos, he claimed that the victim \u201cwas showing signs of life\u201d until he was transferred to the ambulance.<\/p>\n\n

Witness Kyriakos Falkas claimed that, after they arrived on the scene, he stood a little away, on the corner of Gladstonos street and Patision avenue. He described in detail the same scene as his colleagues, only to ultimately admit, when asked by the prosecutor, that he had seen much of it on the video. <\/p>\n\n

Lastly, witness Ioannis Aspiotis testified that he had been the one to summon an ambulance from the national first aid response. He admitted that he had listened to the statements from the other witnesses. He stated that \u201cthe best approach is to hold the arrestee prone, so as to give us his hands\u201d, adding that this method is \u201cmore benign\u201d. He described Zak Kostopoulos \u201cgrabbing the shard and threatening the first aid responder\u201d. Regarding events before his arrival on the scene, he said, like the other witnesses, that \u201cwe were told that he had fallen on the glass and cut himself\u201d. He further also mentioned that Zak Kostopoulos \u201chad assaulted the first aid responder and his colleague.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

Lawyers\u2019 comments on the testimonies<\/h3>\n\n

The lawyers for the prosecution took note of what they deemed to be contradictions, gaps and inexactitudes in the police witnesses\u2019 testimonies.<\/p>\n\n

Lawyer Paparrousou noted that the term \u201cpassive resistance\u201d has no legal standing in the Penal Code, that the policemen \u201cdidn\u2019t bother to determine if there had indeed been a robbery\u201d, and that \u201cthey acted with utmost violence. She added that she considers all police witnesses to be witnesses for the defense. Lawyer Papapantoleon that the witnesses\u2019 testimonies said much about \u201chypothetical crimes, but fail to evaluate in any way those crimes that were real.\u201d She further commented that, in her opinion, the policemen\u2019s testimonies should be compared to the findings of the disciplinary committee, for which she will file a request. <\/p>\n\n

The defense team noted that the police witnesses confirmed their claim that Zak Kostopoulos was dangerous and had assaulted people.<\/p>\n\n

In particular, lawyer Anagnostopoulos (representing defendant Sp. Dimopoulos) noted that \u201cthe narrative that Zak was helpless has collapsed\u201d, while lawyer Filos (representing defendant Ath. Chortarias) stated that he concluded from the testimonies that Z. Kostopoulos was looked after by the first aid responder for 8 minutes and that there was no resuscitation attempt during this time. Lawyer Patalas (representing defendant Ath. Chortarias) commented that, in his opinion, the testimonies showed that the victim was dangerous. <\/p>\n\n

Defense lawyer E. Varela, representing the defendant policemen, commented that the prosecution lawyers\u2019 claims reveal \u201can obsession with showing that the officers killed a man\u201d, adding that \u201cI\u2019m having thoughts about civil compensation\u201d. Lawyer Giannelakis, who represents the same defendants, concluded from the day\u2019s testimonies that \u201cZak Kostopoulos was a menace.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

With the conclusion of the day\u2019s comments, the court adjourned to Friday 17\/12\/2021.<\/p>\n\n

\n\n

The full text of our transcript from the courtroom (in Greek) :<\/p>\n\n