28 September 2008 806 views No Comment Print This Post  Email This Post

A British student faces an extradition hearing this week that could see him sent to stand trial for manslaughter in Greece even though his case has never been considered by a British court.

An extradition appeal is underway by a British student facing a manslaughter charge in Greece for the death of another holidaymaker. Andrew Symeou, who was remanded on £20,000 bail, paid by his mother, and had his passport seized, is challenging a request by Greek Authorities to extradite him to Zante to stand trial.

Jonathon Hiles, from Cardiff, died after an incident at the Rescue nightclub in July 2007. The accused allegedly punched him, causing Mr Hiles to fall off the a stage and crack his skull, causing death. Mr Hiles represented the GB roller hockey team and played ice hockey for the Cardiff Devils’ at junior level.

Mr Symeou, a student at Bournemouth University, denies any involvement, stating he was not even in the nightclub until three hours after the incident.

Despite the fact that My Symeou has never been interviewed by Greek police, he could spend 18 months remanded in custody awaiting trial for an offence that carries a sentence of up to 20 years.

The European Parliament recently approved new laws that automate the extradition process, even if the individual accused has already been convicted and sentenced at a trial at which he was not present. The case has opened a debate about the warrants, which allow EU citizens to be extradited without evidence being heard in a domestic court.

Mr Symeou will appear before a judge at Westminster magistrates court on Tuesday to confirm whether the correct procedures have been followed to ensure the arrest warrant is valid. My Symeou’s lawyers will argue that the request for their client to be extradited should be rejected on the grounds the Greek authorities have “obtained evidence by torture” and deliberately manufactured the case, likely to result in an unfair trial in Greece.

A lawyer in Greece, hired by the Symeou family, obtained the case file from the Greek prosecture and confirmed it “reveals serious anomalies, which are suggestive of abuce on the part of the investigating authorities”. The Greek statements say that all the friends of the victim saw the incident at the nightclub, whereas statements given by the same police to South Wales police say that only one of them saw what happened.

The witnesses were shown a picture of Mr Symeou, sporting a goatee beard and taken on the night before the incident. All say that when they saw him on the night of the incident he had shaved off his goatee. Mr Symeou and other witnesses say he did not shave off his beard, and photographs taken at his sister’s graduation ceremony four days later show him with a beard.

“There is no way Andrew could have grown that beard in such a short space of time,” his father said. “But we can’t argue the evidence in a British court.”

The legal battle over Mr Symeou’s extradition to do comfort Mr Hile’s family in any way. Hi parents, Denzil and Peryn told The Sunday Telegraphy: “Jonathan’s death has devastated the family. Our lives will never be the same again”. They stated that Mr Symeou should go back to Greece to clear his name.

The case continues.