An enraged gathering formed on Wednesday outside a courthouse located on the southern Greek island of Crete, where a couple faced preliminary hearings regarding purportedly viciously abusing a 3-year-old child who is currently battling for his health in a hospital.
Riot police were stationed at the courthouse entrance to prevent the crowd from forcefully entering the building and confronting the defendants as the proceedings got underway. During the commotion, one individual incurred minor facial injuries.
The individuals in question—a 26-year-old woman and her 44-year-old partner—are charged with severely assaulting the woman’s young son, who was urgently admitted to a hospital in Heraklion, the island’s primary city, on Sunday. The case has drawn significant media scrutiny in Greece and ignited widespread outrage across the nation.
Medical personnel from Heraklion University General Hospital reported that the child sustained a serious head injury alongside numerous other injuries affecting his limbs and torso. According to Stelios Kteniadakis, the hospital’s deputy director, the boy is currently intubated and in critical condition within the intensive care unit. He has visible signs of both recent and older injuries, including burn marks.
“Honestly, all of us doctors who have encountered this young child have never witnessed anything of this nature before,” Kteniadakis remarked.
The boy’s mother and her companion, who have been in custody since their arrest on Sunday, appeared in front of a prosecutor on Wednesday. They are facing numerous charges, including attempted murder, inflicting serious bodily harm, and putting a minor in danger. Their identities have not been publicly disclosed in line with Greek legal guidelines.
The gravity of the situation has left even law enforcement astonished, with Greek police spokesperson Konstantina Dimoglidou stating on Greece’s Action24 TV, “Even the police officers are shocked with this case in Crete—they have never encountered a case quite like this before. I don’t know if we have ever seen a child in our country endure such suffering and abuse at such a tender age.”
Reports indicate that the defendants have exchanged accusations regarding the abuse, each denying any wrongdoing toward the child.
