Suspects seek removal of investigating judge in Eleusis knife attack case
Lawyers for the two suspects in the Eleusis knife attack on a 32-year-old have asked for the investigating judge to be removed, arguing she issued an arrest warrant after one suspect had already surrendered. The request has frozen the hearings of the two men.
Request to remove the investigating judge
The lawyer for the two men accused of the knife attack on a 32-year-old in Eleusis filed a request to remove the investigating judge handling the case. The lawyer argues that she issued an arrest warrant while one of the two suspects had already handed himself in to the authorities. The request was filed on the day the suspects were due to give their accounts, and those hearings have not started.
The Athens Council of Misdemeanours, a judicial panel, must now decide whether to accept the request. Until it rules, the investigation is frozen and both suspects remain in custody. The panel will also decide whether the current investigating judge keeps the case or whether it passes to another judge, and a ruling is expected possibly later the same day.
- Knife attack on a 32-year-old in Eleusis, Thursday afternoon
- Defence files request to remove the investigating judge
- Athens Council of Misdemeanours to decide on the request
Charges against the suspects
The two suspects, aged 18 and 22, are accused of the attack on the 32-year-old, which took place on Thursday, 8 October in the afternoon. According to NEWS 24/7, they face prosecution for attempted intentional homicide as co-perpetrators, carrying and possessing a weapon, and violating the arms law. The same outlet reports that media sources say the two men are members of a neo-Nazi organisation.
The victim is described by NEWS 24/7 as an anti-fascist. Other outlets refer to the case as a knife attack and identify the suspects only by age.
The suspects' account
According to reports, the two men are expected to claim that the 32-year-old attacked them first and that they acted in self-defence. Their accounts had not begun when the defence filed the request, so this claim has not yet been put on the record before the investigating judge.
What happens next
If the council accepts the request, the case would move to a different investigating judge and the hearings would resume after that decision. If it rejects the request, the current judge continues the investigation and the suspects give their accounts. After the hearings end, the judicial officers will decide on the further criminal treatment of the two men.
