A Greek American, 27, who was arrested for threatening an airline staff member and two policemen at the Thessaloniki International Airport on Sunday after missing his flight’s boarding, was sentenced on Wednesday to 14 months in jail, converted to community service under newly introduced Greek law.
The man, 27, arrived at the airline desk 5 to 10 minutes before his flight left for Larnaca, the female airline employee said, and when she told him it was too late, he used foul language against her and slammed his fist on the plastic protective division. The man continued his behavior after the arrival of police officers, threatening them with losing their jobs, the two officers said.
During his testimony at a misdemeanors court in Thessaloniki, the defendant’s father attributed his son’s behavior to his great impatience to see his parents in Cyprus, and apologized for his son’s behavior. The 27-year-old himself maintained that the curses were directed at himself, and that he doesn’t know the curse words in Greek that were attributed to him, denying he hit the plastic divider, while he apologized.
Thessaloniki’s court pronounced him guilty of repeated cursing and threatening and did not recognize mitigating circumstances. Since the case did not merit a suspended sentence by law, it was decided – with the defendant’s agreement – that the sentence be converted to community service (420 hours of service, with 1 hour per day), following the recent legislative changes that introduced this institution in Greece.
The 27-year-old filed an appeal and is awaiting a hearing.
