Author’s murder trial starts

The appeals trial of two Romanian men convicted of the murder of acclaimed Greek author Menis Koumandareas began in Athens on Wednesday, with witnesses telling the court that one of the two convicts had been in a volatile relationship with the 83-year-old author, who was found strangled to death in his Kypseli apartment in 2014.

The two Romanian nationals were initially given life sentences, and an additional four years in prison each for robbery.

A coroner had said that Koumandareas had struggled with his killer and bore bruising to his stomach and head.

The trial is to continue on October 5.