Andrew Symeou was extradited to Greece in July 2009 to face charges in connection with the death of a young man at a nightclub on a Greek island, despite evidence that the charges were based on statements extracted by Greek police through the violent intimidation of witnesses, who later retracted their statements.
After being extradited to Greece, Andrew spent over 10 months in appalling prison conditions and was repeatedly denied bail on the basis that he was not a Greek resident. He spent 6 months in the infamous high security Korydallos prison.
A trial date was set for 4 June 2010 after Andrew had spent nearly a year in prison. His trial was adjourned due to the Prosecution’s failure to ensure their witnesses had received the court summons to make them aware of the trial date. The trial of Andrew Symeou finally started on the 22nd March 2011, almost four years after the events in question.
Andrew’s life was turned upside down following his extradition to Greece, but he was eventually cleared by the Greek courts on Friday 17th June 2011 and returned to his family an innocent man. The upheaval caused to Andrew’s life as a result of his extradition, incarceration and trial in Greece was considerable. He has since returned to the UK and completed an undergraduate degree at university in London.
