A STUDENT who was fighting extradition to Greece on manslaughter charges has lost his appeal at the High Court.

Andrew Symeou, 20, who lives near Enfield Town, will now be extradited to Greece for trial unless an appeal is lodged.

He stands accused of causing the death of international roller hockey player Jonny Hiles who died while holidaying on the Greek Island of Zante after being punched off a nightclub podium.

Mr Hiles died the day before his 19th birthday of head injuries.

Mr Symeou’s parents, Frank and Helen, who hired a Greek lawyer to find out what the evidence was against their son, maintain some of it was obtained by torture from the Greek police. They say much of the evidence was fabricated and hired a lawyer to block the extradition, obtained under a European Arrest Warrant, on the grounds of an “abuse of process” by the Greek police.

In a statement today, Mr Symeou said: “If I had never been born what happened to Jonathan Hiles would still have happened. Our paths never crossed.

“The case against me has been manufactured and manipulated by the Zante Police. They beat up two of my friends until they signed statements that were not true.

“I am innocent and I can prove it, but it seems nobody wants to listen.”

Mr Hiles’ family have called for the 20-year-old Bournemouth university student to be tried in Greece, saying he should fight his innocence in the Greek justice system.

Denzil Hiles, Mr Hiles’ father, said: “We are not going to bring my boy back whatever we do. All I want is justice for him and for Andrew {Symeou], and for Andrew to be tried in Greece where it happened."