10:51am Friday 8th August 2008
AN ENFIELD teenager who is facing extradition to Greece following the death of a fellow Brit has issued further claims which he says prove his innocence.
Andrew Symeou, 19, is due to appear at the City of Westminster Magistrates Court next Tuesday, August 12, where he could be extradited to Greece to face trial over the death of international roller hockey player Jonny Hiles.
The 18-year-old from Cardiff died last summer after being punched from a nightclub podium on the holiday island of Zante.
Mr Symeou is fighting to receive a trial in the UK, with an online petition to stop him being extradited to Greece receiving 3,000 signatures and a Facebook group attracting over 4,000 members.
And ahead of next week's court appearance, the Bournemouth University student has issued a statement which he says will prove his innocence.
He said: "The Greek authorities want me to be extradited but I have not even been questioned either by the Greek police or the Welsh police.
"I have not even been asked where I was that night...
"I know I was not there at the time. In fact, CCTV would show me entering the club at around 4am and leaving 20 minutes later, three hours after the alleged incident."
And a statement from the Justice for Symeou campaign added: "Friends of the victim initially gave statements to the police in which they described the event in which the victim was struck, and provided (differing) descriptions of the assailant.
"Notably, however, they described the assailant as being clean shaven and wearing a blue polo shirt at the time.
"Andrew had a beard at the time and was wearing a yellow shirt on the evening in question, a matter that can be proved by witness testimony and photographic evidence.
"Jonny’s friends were then later shown a photograph of Andrew that had been taken by a professional photographer in the club the night before. The photograph showed Andrew with a beard."
Mr Symeou's campaign against extradition has also been backed by Enfield North MP Joan Ryan and the UK Independence Party, which argues that new EU arrest warrants allowing people suspected of serious crimes to be extradited to the country in question without evidence first being heard in their home country are flawed.
The hearing will take place at 10.00am next Tuesday.
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