An off-duty police officer abducted, beat and abandoned a 40-year-old Greek citizen whom he mistakenly thought he was an “illegal migrant.” The unprecedented and shocking incident took place in Xanthi, north-eastern Greece, early on Sunday, triggered a storm of reactions in the local community and exposed the Greek police.
The off-duty police officer from the Xanthi Police Department was wearing civilian clothes and approached the 40-year-old Greek citizen in the Sounio area. According to some media, the officer was driving a service vehicle.
Without any control or authority whatsoever, he handcuffed the man, threw him in the trunk of his vehicle and took him to an isolated field in Selero, where he savagely beat him and abandoned him, local media xanthinews.gr reported.
The victim, member of the Muslim minority in Greece, was born in Germany, lives there and does not speak Greek. He had returned to Xanthi to visit his parents. He has dual, Greek and German citizenship and suffers from multiple sclerosis. His health condition makes communication difficult, since he does not speak Greek well and has hearing problems. This fact seems to have made him even more vulnerable in the hands of a person who was supposed to protect him.
“The incident exceeds all limits of arbitrariness and raises huge questions about control and discipline within the Police. Who will take responsibility?” xanthinews commented.
The local community is shocked and angry. Official announcements are expected from the Police and the Ministry of Citizen Protection, while the voices calling for immediate justice are increasing.
Accompanied by a lawyer, the victim proceed to a police station where he filed a lawsuit.
Speaking to Mega TV from the hospital where he is been treated, the victim said “I’m in shock. I never thought such a thing would happen. I try to recover.”
Officer Arrested
Following the public pressure, the Greek Police issued a statement within hours, confirming the arrest of the officer and announcing that he will face charges of misconduct, unlawful detention and bodily harm.
In addition to criminal prosecution, disciplinary proceedings have also been launched against the officer, the statement added.
The Greek Police stressed in the statement “zero tolerance” to similar behavior by its officers.
The officer was brought before the prosecutor and appeared in court in Monday as he was arrested within 48 hours after committing the crime. However, his trial was postponed for upcoming Wednesday.
It remains unclear whether the police officer put the victim in the trunk of a patrol car or a private SUV.
The police officer’s side reportedly claims that he was on duty and proceeded to conduct a formal check on the man in question, but does not explain his health condition or the injuries the 40-year-old has suffered.
PS Has this U.S. ICE policy arrived in Greece?
The PS is laughable typical left leaning vitriol coming coming from liberal Hamas loving doofus. Please notice KTG accused ICE of improper conduct but says nothing of the murderer who killed 2 migrants in detention. Hahahahahaha!
where? Ah, you wrote it again some weeks ago on FB , I asked & never got an answer. are you troll of A, B of E category?