Australian Fugitive Sentenced in Greece After 27 Years on the Run
An Australian fugitive has been sentenced by a Greek court after spending decades on the run from authorities. James Dalamangas appeared before a court in Aigio, north Peloponnese, on Thursday after a nearly 27-year-long manhunt ended with him being arrested in the rural seaside town.
The 55-year-old is accused of fleeing Sydney shortly after the fatal stabbing of father-of-two George Giannopoulos outside a Sydney nightclub in 1999. Earlier this week, local authorities stormed the rural property and arrested Dalamangas, who has reportedly been using a fake identity to fly under the radar.
The court sentenced him to two years and nine months imprisonment on weapons and false testimony charges, local news agency Kathimerini reported. An 86-year-old man and a 47-year-old woman were also convicted of harbouring a fugitive and have been granted temporary release as they appeal jail terms.
Extradition Battle Ahead
Australian authorities are expected to put forward an application to extradite Dalamangas to Australia in the coming weeks. “Ultimately, this will go through the courts in Greece, reviewed by the government. They may make a decision to send him back to us. I hope they do,” former NSW Police detective Duncan McNab said.
Dalamangas is a Greek citizen, with his lawyer telling journalists he’ll fight extradition to Australia. He won’t be charged over the fatal stabbing, for which he has always maintained his innocence, if he stays in Greece as the statute of limitations for murder there expires after 25 years.
“Greece and the Mediterranean area has been a sunny place for shady people. They could disappear,” McNab noted. Dalamangas was living under the name Antonis Tzimas, apparently as an olive farmer with dozens of Rottweilers. Greek police waited outside for three days before he finally emerged from the property. They were given just three words to find him: Antonis, Australian and tattoo. The tattoo in question was of Greek phrase “Molon Lave”, meaning “come and get them”.
