“My children and I are still in shock, we fear for our lives”, emphasizes the 29-year-old who has repeatedly been the victim of domestic violence by her ex-husband and today saw him on his way to prison, after his conviction by the Three-member Criminal Court of Thessaloniki.

As the woman from Albania claims, this is the ninth time the court has issued a conviction against her 38-year-old ex-husband for the abusive behavior towards her and their children, but all this time she appealed the first court decisions and continued to roam free and threaten them.

The last incident that the woman reported to the Police and led to the arrest of the 38-year-old, occurred in the early hours of March 30, when the accused visited the apartment where the 29-year-old lives with their two minor children and threatened to burn them alive. In fact, he didn’t stop there, since before leaving the apartment building he set fire to the entrance and set fire to the bells from the intercom, while after his temporary detention he continued to threaten her by phone.

Speaking to protothema.gr, the 29-year-old declares that she is terrified and fears for her life since her ex-husband constantly threatens her and the children. She herself asks the Greek justice system that the man remain, this time in prison, stressing that if he is released again he will kill her.

“Until the last time he was convicted, he didn’t stop looking for me and threatening me,” emphasizes the 29-year-old, adding that the accused constantly went to her house and the children’s school to threaten them.

“On March 30, he came without any warning and after threatening to set me on fire, he went downstairs and set fire to the intercoms. I’m still in shock and so are the kids. I still can’t calm down and I’m very afraid for our lives,” he says.

“I want to live a peaceful life with my children. If they release him, I’m sure he’ll do it again, that’s why I want him to stay in prison,” she underlines.

It is recalled that at noon on Tuesday (11/4) the Three-member Criminal Court of Thessaloniki imposed a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence, without parole, on the 38-year-old defendant for domestic violence and damage to foreign property by fire.

“I fear for my life and the children – He has been convicted eight times and is free”

As the 29-year-old woman stated in her testimony, it is not the first time that her ex-husband threatens her with her life, uses verbal and physical violence against her and is a systematic victim of domestic violence from him. However, despite the fact that he has filed 11 complaints with EL.AS. and the defendant measures eight convictions, to this day he was still walking free as a result of which he feared for her life and that of their children.

“Two years that we have been together and in the last three months that we have divorced, he keeps threatening me that he will kill me, burn me alive with the children and that he will put us in chains”, said the woman, starting her testimony at the Three-member Criminal Court of Thessaloniki .

Describing the latest incident, the 29-year-old, originally from Albania, said that everything happened at 04.30 when the accused appeared at the apartment building and started ringing her doorbell. “I was scared and didn’t open the door, as soon as I realized it was him I called the police. He breached the main entrance with a screwdriver and climbed to the fourth floor. He was shouting from outside the apartment “open, I will burn you and the children alive”. Our children were crying, such incidents happen all the time,” said the woman.

Continuing her testimony about the unimaginable incident, she said that her ex-husband went down to the entrance and set the bells on fire. “There was a witness who saw him setting fire. We called the Fire Department and the Police. I said that my ex-husband did and that he threatened us, as he had done many other times, that he would burn us alive. He chases me at work, he doesn’t let the children go to school, he threatens my life and my children,” the victim testified.

As she explained, the woman has reported 11 incidents of domestic violence to the Police, while her ex-husband has eight convictions, but they have a deterrent effect and he is released. “I am in court every month. It’s been two years since we separated and after the court,” she said, adding in despair: “He’ll kill me if you let him go, I’m sure. If you let him go, he will kill me.”

“He wants to be near me, beat me, hit me in front of the kids. In August, he hit me in the park, in front of our children,” the 29-year-old underlined.

The 38-year-old denied the charges

For his part, the 38-year-old defendant, of Albanian origin, argued – without convincing the court – that what the 29-year-old complains about are lies and that he has never threatened his ex-wife and the children, nor has he used violence against them.

“That day I did not knock on the door and set fire. I’m worried about my children, since August 12th he won’t give them to me. My ex-wife keeps going to the department and lying. With slander, he burdens my position”, he said.

It is noted that the man was sentenced again a few months ago to a prison sentence of 31 months for domestic violence against his ex-wife. Today he was found guilty of the charges of domestic violence and damage to another’s property by fire and despite the fact that the appeal has suspensory effect, he is required to serve the prison sentence imposed by the court in the previous conviction against him.