In a decision by which he unanimously found the main defendant guilty in the case of the death of Marios Sulukus in Menidi, the Mixed Jury Court concluded today. "The court's decision was very difficult but was unanimous," the president said. In particular, the defendant was found guilty of the offence of manslaughter by intention, in a calm mental state, with potential deceit.

Instead, the second defendant in the case who was accused of attempted manslaughter with intent, in a calm mental state, with potential deceit, was unanimously found innocent. By that decision the court adopted the corresponding prosecutor's proposal before the audience.

"This is a tragedy that transcends the limits of an individual case and touches the core of the entire society. I don't know what a society should expect that its children are murdered in a school celebration in peacetime," he had an earlier report from the District Attorney Anthony Casapis in court.

According to elements of the referral, the 5th grader's 11-year-old student was hit by a "responsible" bullet in June 2017 while waiting to begin a celebration with a theatre performance that had been organized at his school, the 6th Acharnon Primary School. Suddenly, however, the little boy fell unconscious to the ground and scared his classmates next to him alerted his mother, who was on the site as she was the fifth - grade teacher and her son’s teacher!

At the school he rushed the EKAB and the child was transported by bleeding to the back of his head to the Genna "Saint Sophia", where he ended up some hours later. From the autopsy it emerged that the death of the 11-year-old came from a gun bullet, which had caused him vehement brain damage.

Nine years after this incredible case, two Roma men sit on the defendant's stand, who behave as the perpetrators of unnecessary shootings resulting in the tragic loss of the child. The first defendant faces the charge of manslaughter by intention with potential deceit and the second the charge of attempted homicide with potential deceit. According to the referral, they both knew that their actions – i.e. the shootings – could have caused the death of someone present in the wider densely populated area. The school that little Marios attended was just two kilometers from where they were shooting.

During his present speech to the prosecutor's office he earlier asked the court for the conviction of the main accused of manslaughter by intention, rejecting from the outset any possibility of acquittal recognition. As he pointed out, the behavior that led to the tragedy was never accompanied by practical regret, while similar incidents are still recorded in the area.

On the contrary, for the second defendant the prosecutor had proposed his discharge, explaining that the acts attributed to him fall within the meaning of the inappropriate attempt, which, due to the abolition of the relevant criminal order for a certain period of time, cannot establish criminal liability.

The sentence decision is now expected.