Alleged Hamas operative ordered detained pending trial in Greece on terror charges

Greek judges order the detention pending trial of a Palestinian accused of being part of a Hamas-linked network plotting attacks on Israeli targets in Europe and Asia, legal and police sources say.

The 37-year-old suspect, who denies wrongdoing, was detained on June 6 on the island of Crete, in a joint operation by Greece’s intelligence service and police anti-terrorism unit, authorities said.

Police confiscated mobile phones, a laptop and hard discs from his residences and investigators found evidence he had ordered online materials that could be used to make explosives but had not received them.

His lawyer tells Reuters that the evidence is thin and reveals inconsistencies.

“The defendant’s character, mindset and overall demeanor bear no resemblance to the profile of a criminal or terrorist. Rather, he appears to have been cast as a scapegoat in a case founded on tenuous evidence and riddled with significant gaps,” claims criminal defense lawyer Spyridon Pantazis.