Greeks appealing sentence for perjury

ATHENS, Greece (AP):

Greek sprinters Costas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou were sentenced to a suspended 31-month jail term yesterday, meaning they are unlikely to serve prison time for being found guilty of faking a motorcycle accident on the eve of the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Kenteris and Thanou were not present in court, but their lawyers immediately appealed the sentences.

Olympic medallists at the 2000 Sydney Games, Kenteris and Thanou claimed they were involved in a motorcycle accident after missing a doping test on the eve of the 2004 Games - causing a major scandal for the host nation.

"The court finds that this accident never occurred," presiding judge Dimitris Lefkos said yesterday, while reading out the verdict.

The runners' coach, Christos Tzekos, was sentenced to 33 months in jail. Seven state hospital doctors who treated the athletes and two witnesses to the alleged crash were handed sentences of between six and 15 months.

Kenteris and Thanou spent several days in an Athens hospital claiming they were injured in the crash. Under pressure from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), they withdrew from the Games. They were both subsequently suspended by the IAAF.

"We are pleased that justice has finally been done and that this faked 'accident' has been revealed for what it was," IOC spokesman Mark Adams told The Associated Press. "The judge made clear what we knew all along: that this accident never happened."

a legal stain

Tzekos also was found guilty of distributing banned substances. All the sentences were suspended.

"This ruling is a legal stain on the (justice) system which I am certain will be wiped clean at the appeal," Kenteris' lawyer Michalis Dimitrakopoulos said.

Earlier, in a courtroom outburst, he said his client had been denied leniency routinely awarded to dangerous criminals.

"It is simply unbelievable to refuse any mitigating circumstances to Olympic champions. That is granted to drug dealers and felons," he said. "And now we have this decision for two athletes as if they have not offered anything to the country. It is disgraceful and I am ashamed for my country."

The trial by a panel of three judges began on January 12 following at least eight postponements over several years. Thanou testified on March 28, protesting her innocence and insisting that the accident had occurred, while Kenteris never appeared.

Greek legal experts said it was unlikely any of the defendants would go to prison, because they all have no prior convictions and are not considered a danger to the public. If an appeals court upholds the convictions, they are likely to pay a fine, the experts said.