Criminal procedure

Forty suspects who were arrested during Monday's deadly soccer-related violence in Athens are expected to appear on Saturday before one of three investigating magistrates appointed to deal with the case.

One of the suspects is Greek while all the others are Croatian.

On Friday, twelve people were remanded in pretrial custody after their testimony.

Twelve people were remanded into pretrial custody by an Athens prosecutor on Friday, as an investigating magistrate began questioning dozens of suspects who were arrested during Monday's deadly soccer-related violence.

Ten of the suspects are Croatian nationals, while the other two are a Greek, aged 27, and an Albanian national, aged 22.  

The first 30 people charged over the clashes between rival football fans near the AEK Athens stadium in Nea Filadelfia were transferred to the Evelpidon court complex under heavy security on Friday. They are to testify before three examining magistrates who have been assigned to the case, with the 25th regular examining magistrate acting as lead and the other two as her assistants.

Nearly 100 Croatian soccer fans appeared in an Athens court Wednesday to face criminal charges that include murder and membership of a criminal organization over their alleged involvement in deadly fan violence.

With regard to the continued imprisonment of the ethnic Greek mayor of Himare, Fredi Beleri, Greek diplomatic sources have stressed that, as a candidate for EU membership, Albania must strictly respect his right to a fair trial and the presumption of innocence.

A 70-year-old man in Halkidiki in northern Greece has been placed in temporary custody after appearing before an investigative magistrate on Monday accused of shooting and injuring three minors with a shotgun after a verbal altercation in the region of Olympiada.

A report compiled by the Athens Prosecutor's Office showed that, every year, 140,000 criminal charges are filed at the office, a huge number that explains the backlog of cases pending in the country's judicial system. These cases are investigated by just 12 prosecutors, which means that each prosecutor has to handle 11,500 criminal charges a year.

The man charged with the abduction and murder of Polish woman Anastazja Rubinska on the Dodecanese island of Kos will face prosecution for her rape.

The 32-year-old man, who is from Bangladesh, has already been charged with the abduction and murder of 27-year-old Rubinska, whose body was found on Sunday, a number of days after she was reported missing.

A 49-year-old man with prior drug-related convictions held in pre-trail detention in Crete over charges of drug trafficking was released after four months, citing health problems. 

When an acquittal from a prosecution that appeared from the beginning to be politically motivated takes eight years to be finalized, we should not expect many capable people to be willing to apply for a position in public office.