Greek court orders probe of alleged police beating
Baku, February 7 (AZERTAC). A Greek prosecutor ordered an investigation Monday into allegations of police brutality in the arrest of four alleged bank robbers after authorities released digitally altered mug shots that covered up extensive bruising on three of the suspects.
The four men, aged 20 to 24, were arrested Friday in northern Greece shortly after a double bank robbery in a village near the city of Kozani. Four other people are being sought in that case, in which two banks were robbed simultaneously.Three of those arrested are suspected of being linked to a militant group that has claimed responsibility for a series of bombings.
Police released mug shots over the weekend seeking further information on the suspects from the public. All four photos appeared to have been digitally altered, with signs of bruising showing through the alteration on the left side of three suspects` faces. The bruising was clear in photos taken during their transfer from the local police station.
Authorities say the suspects had been armed and were injured during the operation to arrest them. Public Order Minister Nikos Dendias said on private Mega television that he understood the photos had been altered because police wanted pictures that could lead to further information from the public and they needed to be recognizable. He insisted that instances of torture, if proven, would not be tolerated.
Dendias referred to the suspects as "heavily armed terrorists, terrorists who had carried out a robbery."
There have been numerous allegations of brutality of suspects in Greek police custody in recent years, with complaints of beatings and humiliation.
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