Thessaloniki: Innocent due to doubts, the Roma couple for the death of their infant – In the first instance they were imprisoned for 8 years
The Mixed Jury Court of Appeal of Thessaloniki acquitted, due to doubts, a couple with many children who were accused of fatal exposure of their newborn child.
Specifically, the only 53-day-old boy had died in Katerini, in August 2014, with the forensic report stating that his death came from dehydration and malnutrition. Under these circumstances, the parents, residents of the Roma settlement of Katerinis, were charged and sentenced in the first instance (by the Mixed Jury Court of Polygyros) to 8 years in prison.
The mother in question was decided not to have a deterrent to her execution, with the consequence that both the father and him were sent to prison (the former tried 2/5 and was released, while the latter was released on a suspended sentence application). During their detention, a total of 9 children were hosted by relatives.
The accused parents denied the charge of fatal exposure, stressing that the newborn was suffering from some unspecified medical condition that prevented him from receiving breast milk.
They were acquitted by the Appeal Court of Thessaloniki but will appeal to the Justice Department as young people
“We ran to the hospitals, we were interested in the fate of our child. As we took care of the rest of the children, so we took care of this one too” pointed out the accused parents and added that the hospital doctor recommended special baby milk but due to their financial weakness they are unable to purchase it. “We turned everywhere for help,” they emphasized. After the acquittal verdict of the Court, the couple intends to appeal to the Justice, asking for compensation for the period of their “unjust detention”, as their lawyer Paschalis Hadjikontzios reported to APE-MPE. He said that “if there had been a diagnosis at birth we would not have reached this point”.