A 27-year-old man has been found guilty of domestic assault and unlawful residence in Greece by the Volos Single-Member Misdemeanours Court, after attacking his 24-year-old wife in front of their four-year-old child in a village in Pelion.

The 24-year-old woman, who testified through an interpreter, told the court that her husband returned home drunk from work and began shouting at her because she was speaking on the phone with her family in Albania, according to gegonota.news.

She said that when she went outside to avoid the argument, he followed her, pushed her to the ground and then grabbed her by the arms, while their young child reportedly begged him to stop.

A short time later, she sought refuge at a friend’s house and was later taken to hospital, where doctors found abrasions on her hands, bruising on her chest and an injury to her scalp. She also told the court that she had been subjected to violence in the past, saying her husband became aggressive when he drank.

The 27-year-old denied the charges, claiming he had not hit his wife and had only tried to take her mobile phone out of her hands out of jealousy. He further alleged that she had injured herself in order to press charges against him, and said there had been tensions because of her family’s attitude towards him.

The court rejected the defence’s arguments and found him guilty on both charges. He was sentenced to two years and six months in prison and fined €5,000. The sentence was suspended pending appeal, on the condition that he voluntarily leaves the country.