Α 51-year-old man was sentenced to 19 months in prison, suspended for three years, by the Immediate Three-Member Misdemeanor Court of Thessaloniki for charges of domestic violence against his ex-partner. Last Thursday, he went under her apartment and slashed the tires of her car.
The man, aged 51, was found guilty of violating the restraining order imposed on him for not approaching the victim within a distance of less than 50 meters, property damage, domestic threats, and verbal abuse.
During her testimony, the 53-year-old woman told judges that she had been a victim of domestic violence by the accused many times. Regarding the latest incident with the damage to her car, she stated that she went out early in the morning to go to work and saw the slashed tire.
“Earlier, I saw him passing by my house with a truck from the balcony. I immediately went inside because I fear for my life and the lives of my children. I am sure he did this. My children and I have been sleepless; there have been too many incidents and complaints I have filed for domestic violence,” said the woman, adding that the accused had set her son’s car on fire some time ago.
The man did not appear in court to testify and was represented by a lawyer. The lawyer emphasised that his client denies the charges.
“I Fear for My Life”
“I have faced many incidents of violence and threats in front of our child from the man I was with for 9 years, and I couldn’t leave.”
These were the words of 53-year-old Polyxeni, who described to protothema.gr the scenes of violence she has faced from her husband, resulting in her fearing for her life. According to her allegations, he insists on making her life “hell,” despite the restraining orders imposed by the court to prevent him from approaching her.
The latest incident occurred on Thursday morning when the woman went downstairs from her apartment and saw her car’s tire slashed. As she reported to the police, her 51-year-old former husband went to her house in the early hours and slashed them with a knife.
The brutal beatings and threats continue
Just two months ago, the woman had walked through the doors of the police station to report the brutal beating by her ex-husband, whom she emphasised she still fears to this day, knowing that he owns a gun and has become her “shadow.”
Describing the incident, she said, “Everything happened in front of our child who is a minor, and while we were fine, I saw messages from another woman, and I told him, ‘Do whatever you want, we’re done, I’m tired.’ I went to put on my shoes to leave, and then he violently attacked me in front of the baby and cursed me obscenely,” she said. “He hit me, grabbed me by the throat in front of our child, dragged me for a few meters, and pinned me to the wall. I started to lose consciousness, and I heard the baby screaming, ‘Daddy, what are you doing? Let go of my mommy, she’s suffocating.'”
Eventually, I managed to escape, and then he started breaking everything in the house. He took a picture and swore he would kill me and my children. He said he would take our young child and disappear,” she described.
After filing a complaint for the incident, the police arrested the man, installing the panic button application on her phone. She said she feels safer having the application, but she still fears for her life as her ex-husband violated the restraining orders imposed on him by the court.
“Today, I’m back in court because I fear for my life, as he has hit me only once. I haven’t stopped receiving threats,” she emphasised.
