Not even the president of the court, who ultimately convicted the 55-year-old Albanian perpetrator, could bear to see the photo of the beaten Rigas covered in blood... The defendant, who brutally beat two stray dogs with an iron crowbar on December 23, 2011 in Moschato, was finally sentenced today by the Athens Misdemeanor Court to 9 months in prison without probation, a sentence that is redeemable (with 20 euros for each day) and a fine of 3,000 euros.
In essence, Rigas' murderer and Dukas' torturer will pay approximately 8,500 euros for the crime he committed. Initially, the maximum prison sentence provided for each animal was proposed, namely 12 months, but with compensation – as provided by law – 9 months were imposed for the serial abuse of animals according to the prosecutor. It should be noted that this is the maximum sentence provided for such types of misdemeanors.
The defendant did not appear in court and was represented by his lawyer, who tried – but failed – to present as false witnesses all those who testified today about what they saw on the morning of December 23, 2011. She also tried to justify the 55-year-old by saying that the animals attacked him because they were hungry!
The defendant's lawyer, addressing Marina Teli, accused her of inciting animal lovers via the internet, forcing the president to intervene by telling her "okay, you speak up!" In fact, when one of the dozens of animal lovers who flooded the courtroom was holding the photo of the beaten Rigas in his hand, the president of the court asked her to take it down (since the sight of the animal covered in blood is horrific) because, as she said, "she can't stand to see it."
The trial, the outcome of which vindicates the animal rights movement, lasted more than an hour and the animal rights organizations' lawyer was LAOS MP Thanos Plevris. We remind you that the defendant has the right to file an appeal within 10 days.
