They denied any involvement in the implementation of the journalist Giorgos Karaivaz the two defendants who pleaded guilty today in the Joint Jury.

The two brotherswhich is attributed to them that in execution of a “contract” they were the perpetrators of the cold-blooded murder of the journalist in April 2021 outside his house in Alimos, they repeated in court the position they have been promoting since the beginning of their arrest (a year ago), denying that they are the natural perpetrators of the journalist’s murder.

The eldest brother, 49 years old, he was the first to apologize in court and justified his journey with the cleaning company’s van to Alimos on the day of the journalist’s murder and one day before, on an activity of the company.

As he said he had gone to Alimos to distribute leaflets. He also mentioned that when he was brought by the police on the case of the murder of the journalist, he checked his agenda and found that on the two days in question he had gone with his van to the area to distribute leaflets.

Chairman: I read your agenda carefully, I didn’t find any division on other sheets of it

Accused: It was usually undertaken by […] to distribute to nearby areas.

Chairman: Only two days a year did you hand out flyers in 2021?

Defendant: No, we shared on other days, but I stopped sharing.

Chairman: So you did twice in 2021?

Accused: I must have gone 3-4 times but I didn’t note it down.

Chairman: I generally see the calendar full, the agenda was full. Did you fill it in yourself? Here (note for handing out leaflets) I think the handwriting is different, do you want to see it again?

Defendant: I think I filled it in.

The defendant emphasized at the end of his statement that he is the father of four children and that he has never committed illegal acts.

The second defendant, 41 years oldhe claimed that day he had gone with a friend to see a truck which they had bought with the intention of reselling it, a fact which, he said, was proven by a relevant photo in a post made at the time on social media.

“If we had been arrested 2-5 months after the murder, we would have done a declassification and we would have known everything. The only thing that made me remember something is the photo on Facebook. This photo was taken by my friend, Antonis and not me for an alibi as was said, it is unfair what was heard. The only photo we have of the truck was when we went and put up signs. I don’t remember what time it was. Lunch hours. It must have been after 2.00-2.30 to 4.00. He came to Nice and took me.”

In addition, the defendant said that he had nothing to do with weapons, even though he was going to a shooting range.

“I was just going to the shooting club, because there are judges, businessmen, doctors. I did it for public relations,” said the defendant.

Towards the end of his plea, the accused told the judges with intensity:

“What do I have to do with national security? Our life here is ruined. I have been slandered as having committed a robbery, my rights have been violated […] we have done nothing, we are innocent. This is unfair, we are ruined, we don’t know how to get our work together, tell me what I have to do, do it now, at my own expense, let’s finish.”

The trial will continue on Monday, when the prosecutor will present her proposal on the guilt or not of the two defendants.