With a detailed statement in which he included all the evidence that emerged during the hearing before the Mixed Jury Court of Athens, which is trying the death of Zac Kostopoulos, the prosecutor Sotirios Bougioukos, today called for the guilt of the owner of the jewelry store on Gladstonos Street and his co-defendant, a real estate agent.
According to Mr. Bougioukos, these two defendants should be declared guilty of the offence of inflicting grievous bodily harm in conspiracy against 33-year-old Zach Kostopoulos and not of the offence of intentional homicide, as requested by the prosecution. Instead, the prosecutor asked the court to declare innocent the four accused police officers who had rushed out of the jewelry store, stating, in his summation, that they had acted within the scope of their duties without going beyond the call of duty.
In fact, today, while the prosecutor was in court, Magda Fyssa was in court[/B], as were the mothers of Erato and Garifallia, who were murdered by their comrades.
The summation: Inconsiderate defendants
[/P]Mr. Bougioukos' summation lasted about two hours in court. After first analyzing the legal aspect of the case, the prosecutor referred to the actions of the six defendants in conjunction with the forensic reports, the witness statements and the audiovisual material included in the case file.
Referring to the two defendants for whom he sought guilt - the jeweler and the broker - the prosecutor said, among other things, the following: "They wanted to cause the damages. The injuries were associated with death and the (victim's) body reacted through the stress mechanism. The death would not have occurred if he had not been wounded in this way repeatedly and severely." In fact, as the prosecutor said, the jeweler and the broker, although they had seen that the 33-year-old "had been injured and was bleeding, although they knew that the attack on him with forcefulness to the head could result in death, through lack of due care they acted recklessly".
Continuing, the prosecutor spoke of unacceptable and punitive action by these two defendants, but, as he said, their goal was only to keep Zac Kostopoulos at the scene until the authorities arrived.
"Although their action is socially unacceptable and punitive, their aim was to keep him (the 33-year-old) in the store and have him arrested by the authorities," Mr. Bougioukos said, noting that this was evident from the fact that once they took Zac Kostopoulos out of the store they stopped acting.
Regarding the prosecution's request for a change of charge, the prosecutor said that both defendants should be found guilty according to the indictment (i.e. for the felony of aggravated assault and battery). According to the prosecutor, the charge should not be changed to intentional homicide because the two defendants "did not accept as a possibility the death of Zac Kostopoulos."
Also, Mr. Bougioukos said that Zac Kostopoulos was not a robber. "He did not remove items, he did not threaten anyone," Bougioukos said, adding that instead, the defendants "knew that (the victim) was in a state of panic and had not removed items from the store, that he wanted to extricate himself, that he was not dangerous and wished to escape."
According to the prosecutor, the jeweler and the real estate agent "acting with intent, fired with violence" blows to the head of Zacharias Kostopoulos. "The first (the jeweler) of the five times he kicked, all three hit the bottom of the store's glass and the head of Zacharias Kostopoulos," the prosecutor said, continuing: "The second defendant (the broker) kicked nine times towards the bottom of the store and five blows hit the victim, causing pain to the latter."
In addition, the prosecutor asked that the two defendants' claims that they were in defense be dismissed. "Zacharias Kostopoulos never attacked the defendants and it was the defendants who attacked him, destroyed the glass window and dragged him out of the store," he said, noting that the accused broker did not even explain why he was involved in the attack.
Acquittal for the police officers
As for the four accused police officers who arrested Zac Kostopoulos, the prosecutor calling for their acquittal said among other things during his summation: "They intended to immobilize the deceased and to achieve his capture and arrest. They did not proceed to physically injure him but acted within the scope of their duties. Their actions were not excessive and did not go beyond what was necessary. It does not follow that their action is causally linked to the fatal outcome."
The statements of Zac Kostopoulos' parents
After the prosecution's closing statement, Eleni Kostopoulou, Zac Kostopoulos' mother, said, among other things. From their apologies it emerged that they have not repented and my mind goes to the word deceit. There was something that led them to behave this way. The police went beyond the call of duty and as police they did nothing. There are still many points that were not investigated, evidence was not collected, witnesses were not found. This makes them, as my husband had said, vicariously responsible for the violence they used and did not help. This case must be solved. A lot of evidence and witnesses were lost and I hold them responsible."
For his part, Zach Kostopoulos' father said: "I expected the prosecutor to be more strict about the police officers. They did not check the mobile phones of the defendants. There was clearly deceit. There is video footage of him being kicked. Are we not going to believe what we see either?"
The trial will resume on Monday.
Source: Proto Thema
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