Greek prison guards charged with torturing inmate to death
AFP
April 5, 2014, 6:40 am
Thessaloniki (Greece) (AFP) - Greek prosecutors have charged seven more prison guards suspected of having tortured an inmate to death, bringing the number of defendants to 15, a judicial source said on Friday.
The seven guards from Nigrita prison in the northern town of Serres are accused of causing the death of 42-year-old Albanian national Ilie Kareli, who was transferred to the prison after killing a guard in another prison.
They are charged with carrying and using weapons, torture and grievous bodily harm, as were eight other guards charged earlier this week.
Kareli was transferred to Nigrita on March 27 after having killed a guard in Malandrino prison in the centre of the country two days earlier. He had been serving a sentence for attempted murder since 2007.
According to a preliminary investigation, he was severely beaten upon his arrival at Nigrita and was then placed in an isolation cell, monitored by cameras. He was found dead several hours later.
An autopsy found "chest injuries and a fractured sternum caused by a blunt instrument" that led to internal bleeding.
Further investigations have been ordered to see whether other injuries on his body were caused by electric shocks.
The justice ministry condemned the death, saying in a statement: "These were inhuman and shameful acts by officials who violated the rule of law and protection of human life. The law will be applied to all those responsible."
Kostis Papaioannou, president of the National Commission for Human Rights, said on Wednesday that the case was indicative of the "impunity" often enjoyed by police and prison staff in Greece.
All 15 defendants are due to appear in court in Serres on Saturday.
Greece has been repeatedly singled out by international rights groups for the standards in its prisons, which have deteriorated during the country's economic crisis.
