The parents of Bakari Henderson were back to the courtroom in Patras on Monday where the trial at Second Instance for the men accused of killing their 22-year-old four years ago was set to begin today. The couple that had traveled for one more time from Austin, Texas, to Greece was disappointed again to hear that the trial was postponed to February 23.
picture via @daphnetoli
Bakari Henderson was attacked and killed by a mob outside a bar in the famous resort of Laganas on the island of Zakynthos in 2017. The victim was on short vacations on the island and died within a few minutes on the sidewalk. The incident was captured by security cameras enabling authorities to identify the perpetrators who were working in the area.
A couple that had traveled for one more time from Austin, Texas, to Greece was disappointed again to hear that the trial was postponed to February 23.
The case has been tried in the First Instance in 2018 and now is being heard in the Second Instance. Nine of the attackers went on trial. Six were found guilty of assault, and none were convicted of murder. In First Instance the accusations were converted from homicide to lethal bodily harm.
On Monday, the defense attorney of three of the seven defendants in total requested a postponement of the trial and finally, the court decided to adjourn the trial for Wednesday, February 23, 2022.
The issue of the “huge delay” in the verdict of the Henderson murder case was raided by US Vice President Kamala Harris at a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis last Saturday in Munich, media reported.
The delays in the administration of Justice in Greece and the negative image for the country went beyond the European borders and the Court of Human Rights received attention from the official US state.
During the meeting with the Greek PM on the sidelines of the Security Conference, Vice Harris underlined the flawed functioning of the Greek Justice system regarding the excessive delays in its delivering final verdicts.
The American vice president reportedly asked the Greek PM about the progress of the Henderson case trial for the murder.
PM Mitsotakis reportedly committed himself to personally follow the trial and inform her accordingly.
