Suspected members of terrorist group Cells of Fire Kostas Sakkas and Marios Seisidis were found guilty by the Misdemeanors Court of Athens on charges of resisting arrest, ID card forgery and auto theft.
After a 12-hour hearing, the judge sentenced the two men to 33 and 32 months imprisonment respectively. Their lawyers stated that they are going to appeal the court’s decision because their clients are not guilty and they were not given time to prepare their defence, calling the ruling “unfair” and “hasty.”
The defendants denied the charges of resisting arrest. They also claimed that they were beaten and tortured while in police custody. Seisidis stated to the judge that he is a “proud anarchist fighter.”
Both men were taken back to jail not because of the specific sentences but for other cases pending. Seisidis was wanted since 2006 for armed bank robbery. Sakkas had disappeared since 2014, when he was sentenced in absentia to 16 years’ imprisonment under the Anti-Terror Law. He denies having participated in the Cells of Fire terrorist organization.
Sakkas, 32, and Seisidis, 35, were arrested in Sparta in early August after refusing to stop for a routine traffic check. They fled the scene and a police car chased them. They were trapped in a cul de sac and police arrested them. The car they were driving was stolen and had fake registration plates. They also had fake identity cards on them.
Sakkas claimed that the policemen were furious and hit them with their handguns, and that they were unable to resist, as charged.
Extra security measures were taken during the trial due to suspicions that the two men are indeed members of the Cells of Fire group.
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
