Three men convicted of attack against Boutaris, receive jail sentences

A Thessaloniki Court has convicted three men for their participation in the 19 May attack against Mayor Yannis Boutaris.

The court recognised that the attack was an organised plot.

One 20-year old assailant was handed down a 14-month sentence, as was a 36-year-old ethnic Greek from Georgia, who claimed he did not know his target was the mayor. A second 20-year-old man received a 21-month jail sentence.

The judge suspended the jail sentences of the two 20-year-old men for three years. The prison term for the 36-year-old can be bought off for five euros per day.

Two of Yannis Boutaris’ attackers in the near lynching had attempted to contact him to express their remorse for the attack on the 75-year-old mayor, who was thrown to the ground, kicked and beaten by a mob of raging youths.

The apparent motive was to attempt to obtain leniency at today’s trial of three of the four individuals arrested, at Thessaloniki’s Single-Judge Misdemeanours court. The fourth, a 17-year-old, will be tried in a juvenile court, reportedly in October.

Boutaris testified that he is convinced that there was an organised plot against him.

Lawyers for two of the four men, according to the voria.gr website contacted Thessaloniki’s City Hall and asked to speak to the mayor, but ended up speaking to his associates.

The lawyer for the 17-year-old expressed regret over the incident, and said his client is prepared to issue a public apology to the mayor.

A lawyer for another one of the assailants, who smashed the window of the mayor’s car, contacted Boutaris’ office and offered to pay damages.

Boutaris replied that it was not a personal issue on which he can decide, as the automobile is the property of the municipality of Thessaloniki.

“Let them contact the municipality and pay, and let the court judge if that action can be taken into account in issuing the verdict,” a City Hall source quoted the mayor as saying.

Phone call from Golden Dawn MP Kasidiaris

According to voria.gr, one of the assailants, who was wearing a black mask hood, is a member of the neo-fascist Golden Dawn party’s youth group.

Golden Dawn MP Elias Kasidiaris reportedly telephoned him to express his support and offer any necessary assistance.

The family of the attacker, however, denies that he has any connection with Golden Dawn.

One of two assailants who are in their 20’s is a member of a Taekwondo club in the Neapolis area of Thessaloniki.

Meanwhile, a man who was seen on video with a child in his arms hurling epithets at Boutaris has revamped his Facebook webpage in recent days, deleting posts that might place him in a difficult position.