Student handed not guilty verdict

A Thessaloniki court has delivered a not guilty verdict in the case of Cypriot student Avgoustinos Dimitriou (photo) who was facing charges of participating in riots in the same city on November 17, 2006, in a protest rally marking the November 17 student uprising against the military dictatorship.

On the day, Dimitriou was seriously injured by police officers during the protest march.

An administrative court in May ruled that the police should pay the Cypriot student 300,000 euros in damages.

The case received broad publicity after police issued a statement denying they had injured the student, claiming that he had hit his head on a flower pot instead.