Isobia kai loipa gia satanistec,
Stratos Safioleas
Di kai Ci
From: Georgios Vetoulis
ATHENS, Greece (Reuter) - The leaders of a satanic cult
which conducted human sacrifices on the outskirts of Athens were
sentenced to life imprisonment Friday for the rape and murder of
two women in a grisly case that mesmerized Greece.
The three main defendants were found guilty of kidnapping,
raping and murdering a 30-year-old woman and a 15-year-old girl
in occult ceremonies at deserted buildings near Athens, crushing
the skull of one and strangling the other.
Cult leader Asimakis Katsoulas, 22, and his deputy, Manos
Dimitrokalis, 21, were found guilty on two counts of rape and
murder and one count of kidnapping and were given life terms.
Katsoulas's former girlfriend and a ``high priestess'' in
the cult, Dimitra Marieti, 20, was sentenced to 18 years and
four months in prison after being found guilty as an accessory
to murder. The court recognized extenuating circumstances
related to her young age at the time of the crimes.
The three confessed after their arrest in December 1993 that
they led a 20-member satanic cult, which conducted animal and
human sacrifices for three years.
The case gripped Greece for weeks and television paraded
dozens of experts, from psychologists to church witch-hunters,
to debate whether the apparently normal youths believed in satan
or used the occult to rape, kill and obtain money.
The three testified that the devil was behind all the evils
they performed and that they have now turned to Christianity for
absolution.
But Theodoros Diamantis, the private investigator who
cracked the case last year, told Reuters this was ``Nonsense.
Satanism was an excuse to get sick sex and money.''
Orthodox priests, however, rushed to the three's spiritual
aid, testifying on their behalf and visiting them in prison
where they have been held for 18 months.
``The evil spirit is omnipresent,'' said Ionnnis Hatzifotis,
a spokesman for the Orthodox Church. ``The church can't tell
whether these kids really believed in Satan but cults exist and
they are very dangerous for our children.''
The first victim was Dora Syropoulou, 15, who was killed at
her initiation ceremony in August 1992. She was lured to an
abandoned winery, stripped, handcuffed, raped and strangled.
Marieti, who said Katsoulas sexually assaulted her during
her initiation, was used as bait to trap the girl and waited in
a car during the murder.
Dimitrokalis said they lured the girl to an abandoned
winery, where Katsoulas stripped her, handcuffed her, raped her
and then strangled her when her screams became unbearable.
He said Katsoulas then poked pine needles into her eyes to
see if she was dead and set the building on fire to destroy the
body. Police found only a piece of Syropoulou's skull.
Marieti told the court she kept quiet about the crimes
because she feared for her family. ``I'm sorry I did not have
the courage to reveal what was going on,'' she said.
Seven months later, Katsoulas and Dimitrokalis kidnapped
hotel maid Garufalia Giourga, 30, on her way home from work,
raped and tortured her in their car before crushing her skull.
Cult members said Katsoulas convinced them he was the
vehicle for ancient demons by performing miracles such as
producing a snowball in his hand in mid-July.
Young women members told the court they were ordered to
bring money and take part in ceremonies, where Katsoulas
sexually abused them while assuming different voices and
personalities, supposedly of ancient demons.
Three young women charged with harboring a criminal were
found guilty and given lesser jail terms ranging from seven to
16 months. Two other defendants were found innocent.
All those convicted were expected to appeal their sentences.
Convicts serving life terms can request to be released after
serving at least 20 years. The death penalty was abolished in
Greece in 1993.
The defendants were cleared of murdering a third victim, a
35-year-old woman because of lack of evidence to link them to a
body found in August 1992 in the same area where they committed
the other two murders.
ATHENS, Greece (Reuter) - A strike by ferry crews stranded
at least 10,000 tourists in Greek ports Friday and halted
seaborne commerce between the islands and mainland, officials.
``Participation so far in the strike is total. No passenger
ships have left port,'' general secretary John Halas of the
Panhellenic Seamen's Federation (PNO) told Reuters.
Trucks carrying perishable goods backed up at Piraeus and
peak-season vacationers waited in vain as PNO and government
officials tried to resolve seamen's demands for higher pensions
and lower taxes.
``We are talking about 20 to 25 passenger ferry departures a
day from Piraeus carrying around 10,000 to 15,000 passengers
(cancelled),'' a Merchant Marine Ministry spokesman said.
The Socialist government repeated a pledge made in March
that it would raise minimum pensions in 1996. It also said it
would try to deal with structural pension fund problems in the
budget for that year.
PNO, which called both passenger and cargo ship workers out
on strike, said the walkout also disrupted cargo shipping
including oil tankers, but shippers and ministry officials
reported no disruption.
The walkout, which began Thursday, was extended to Monday
>from Saturday after seamen unanimously responded to the strike
call, a union statement said.
Union officials said cargo vessel workers joined the strike
but the towage firm that handles major ports, including Piraeus,
said large vessels were sailing normally.
Continuation of the strike will cause hardship in the
country's many islands, whose supplies including perishables are
mostly transported by sea. Some fruit and vegetables from the
islands are exported.
Hydrofoil services, which mostly operate out of Piraeus,
were working normally, the ministry officials said.