The court has ruled in favor of returning the skeletal remains and the bone samples, including the hyoid bone, of Thanasis Nikolaou to his family.
Speaking outside the courthouse, Thanasis’ mother, Andriana Nikolaou, expressed her relief at the decision.
“I’m not happy, but I feel a sense of relief that my son’s bones will finally return to my hands. For 4.5 years now, as you know, they’ve been kept by the police while waiting for the procedures to be completed.”
“I was very angry that all this time they kept trying to torment us. Twenty years should have been enough. We buried our child, and he spoke from the grave- his bones spoke, the scientists spoke- why did they keep tormenting us, why do they want to continue tormenting us?” she said.
She added that she does not wish to remember the pain caused by the prosecution’s original claim that her son had committed suicide. “If our son had fallen from that height- 30 meters- is that how I would have found him?”
Asked what will happen next, she responded, “I will speak to the Church to decide what we will do with his remains,” referring to plans for reburial.
“When I applied to have my son’s remains returned after the procedures were completed, Stavrianos was there again, delaying things once more. It was unacceptable. It’s been 20 years, and it’s because of him that we’ve been suffering. I want to ask: who will pay for all these costs and the hell we’ve lived through?” Mrs. Andriana concluded.
Also read: Thanasis’ family demands justice as report reveals 7 suspects
