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Londoner Andrew Symeou denied bail justice in Greece
November 2, 2009 12:26 PM
Andrew Symeou from Enfield, who was extradited to Greece in July under a European Arrest Warrant on a charge related to the death of a fellow young Briton in a Greek nightclub, has again been refused bail after an appeal.
London Liberal Democrat MEP Sarah Ludford, the party's European justice spokeswoman, said:
"I am appalled that because of this unjust ruling 19 year old Andrew remains in jail before trial, which will be at least a six-month stretch. Since he has a fixed address where he could reside in Greece, it seems clear that he has been discriminated against simply because he is a foreigner."
"The way the decision was conducted and communicated is completely unacceptable, with Andrew's lawyer not given permission to make oral arguments to the judges and Andrew only notified a month after the decision and even then only in Greek."
"The European Arrest Warrant is in principle beneficial to the cause of justice by ensuring that criminals cannot hide from the law. But Andrew's case and others show the urgent need for reforms in cross-border criminal proceedings in Europe to boost the rights of defendants, including bail and language assistance."
Note to editors
1. The legal justice group Fair Trials International, of which Sarah Ludford is a patron, has grave concerns over the conduct of the police investigation, which was built on mistaken identity, conflicting evidence, and violent intimidation of witnesses.
See http://www.fairtrials.net/cases/spotlight/andrew_symeou/ .
2. Sarah Ludford's previous comments can be read here:
http://www.sarahludfordmep.org.uk/news/001234/letter_to_the_guardian__european_arrest_warrants.html
3. Sarah Ludford is 'rapporteur' for the European Parliament's justice & civil liberties committee on a proposed new EU law which would require interpretation and translation to be provided when necessary for suspects in criminal proceedings.
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