“If you let him go you will one day try him for my murder.” It is the anguished phrase of a woman to the court where her 53-year-old cousin was brought to trial, after a complaint she made against him in the last 24 hours for a domestic incident. It is not the first time that she denounces him, while similar complaints that led to successive arrests were also made against him by his ex-partner.

The 53-year-old (citizen) arrested at least three times in the last fortnight with the automatic procedure and is taken almost daily to the Thessaloniki courts to be tried (including adjournments), facing charges, depending on the case, of domestic violence and threats, violation of court orders (forbidding him to approach the complainants) and domestic disturbance of peace.

For one of the above cases, he was sentenced last week by the Single-member Criminal Court of Thessaloniki to a redeemable prison sentence of 9 months (at 10 euros/day) and was released. There had been a complaint by his ex-partner, who testified in court that the 53-year-old threatened her, as she was in a health care store, that he would kill her and throw vitriol at her. “I’m afraid of him, I don’t know why he keeps bothering me,” said the complainant, a mother of one child.

As the 53-year-old man seems to have violated the condition imposed on him not to approach the woman, he was arrested a few days later and taken to Autoforo again. But he was also reported by his cousin – in whose house the defendant has allegedly been staying for the last few years – for another episode.

Both cases were set to go to trial on the same day, but the court ultimately adjourned the proceedings as it decided to order a psychiatric examination to determine whether the 53-year-old has the capacity to stand trial. Under these circumstances, he was released on the condition that he present himself daily at the police station of his place of residence and with the conditions of prohibition of approach and communication.

Less than 24 hours passed and he was arrested for one more time (the last time) following a complaint made again by his cousin. “Our lives are in danger. My granddaughter is 6.5 years old, she is afraid of him and as soon as she sees him, she runs into the room and closes the door. She doesn’t leave the house because she has nowhere to go,” she testified fearfully in the previous court.

For his part, the 53-year-old insists each time claiming that the complaints are false, declaring that he is in love with his ex-partner, while he said that he is dealing with psychiatric issues and for this reason, as he testified, he receives a pension.

For the last case that led him to the courtroom, he asked for an adjournment and it was decided to keep his detention until tomorrow, when the new trial and another transfer to the courts were determined.