Academic’s ‘fake news’ trial postponed until December

The trial of a Thessaloniki academic who claimed that the Covid vaccine may have been responsible for a government official’s heart attack last year was postponed until December by judges at the northern port city’s court of misdemeanors.

According to reports, the trial was delayed because several key witnesses for the prosecution were absent.

Aristotle University professor of clinical pharmacology Dimitris Kouvelas was indicted last year after he claimed, in a social media post, that former deputy civil protection minister Nikos Hardalias should take the National Organization for Medicines (EOF) to task for approving the coronavirus vaccine, which, he indicated, contributed to the heart attack the government official suffered in August 2021.

He is accused of disseminating misinformation and endangering public health.