The court of Alexandroupolis handed out a suspended 26-month imprisonment sentence to the young farmer from Feres who clashed with Turkish asylum seekers who illegally entered Greece, Evros News reported.
Fera, near the Delta of the Evros on the Greek-Turkish border, was the scene of where five adult Turkish citizens entered Greece illegally to seek political asylum but attacked a young cattle breeder instead.
The cattle breeder, who was carrying a firearm as is customary for farmers working on the Greek-Turkish border, located the asylum seekers on Wednesday and asked them to wait for the arrival of police officers so they could begin the asylum seeking process.
According to Evros News, the Turkish asylum seekers then attacked the farmer and attempted to steal his gun.
Police would arrive a few minutes later, but the farmer suffered a ruptured tendon and other injuries.
The Turks would be charged, but after making contact with connections in Athens, the farmer was later charged for making a racially motivated attack against the asylum seekers.
The farmer could have been acquitted of charge of racially motivated violence and not punished under anti-racism law, but according to lawyers who attended the trial, the judges were adamant in charging him.
He was found guilty for violence, illegal carrying and illegal use of weapons, with his sentence being multiplied because of the racism charge.
Two Turks who fought with the Feres farmer were sentenced to 14 months in prison for violence and illegal entry into Greece, while three women were acquitted.
The sentences are suspensive and the young farmer was released, as the specific charges were misdemeanor, while the eight Turkish men, women and children are being held administratively since they applied for political asylum.
According to Evros News, “the judge did not let the defense witnesses finish their sentences and cut off anyone who tried to articulate a word of support for the farmer or explain the situation farmers experience at the Greek-Turkish border for all these years from the hordes of illegal immigrants.”
Journalists were not allowed in the courthouse because of COVID-19 restrictions.
