Lawyer accused of beating wife denies fabricating assault narrative
A criminal lawyer accused of brutally assaulting his 37-year-old wife denied on Tuesday that he had claimed that his wife fell down the stairs.
“I didn’t make up the narrative that my wife fell down the stairs; she chose to tell that version to protect our children,” Apostolos Lytras, 52, said in a statement, and claimed that the assault was a one-time incident. He also said that he has sought counseling to understand what led to his behavior.
“I understand that people are enraged, having witnessed me challenging any form of violence for months, and now they see me as an offender of the same violence I condemned,” he continued.
State broadcaster ERT released the 37-year-old victim’s testimony on Monday. The woman, who is also a lawyer, said that her husband punched her in the head inside his locked car and took her phone to prevent her from using the panic button. She also said she promised her husband not to tell doctors about the abuse to persuade him to take her to a hospital. Once at the clinic, the woman was examined by a doctor and a nurse whom she immediately informed of the beating.
Following Lytras’ deposition on Monday, the judge and prosecutor released him pending trial, imposing restrictive measures – a decision that has been challenged by the Supreme Court on Monday which ordered an investigation.
