DNA holdup in March 2011 police deaths

Nearly a year after two members of the police force’s motorcycle-riding DIAS squad were shot dead in Rendi, southwestern Athens, forensic experts have failed to link DNA found at the site of the shooting to the six suspected robbers — all ethnic Greeks from Russia — charged in connection with the attack. Five of the suspects linked to the shootout last March have been in custody since May, while a sixth is believed to have fled to Russia.

The investigating magistrate assigned to the case, Evangelia Barbaressou, last week sent a letter to the police’s forensic department, asking for an “immediate” update on the progress of the analysis of the DNA found at the scene of the shooting. Barbaressou had sent a similar letter in October that reportedly went unanswered.

The shooting last March occurred after policemen chased a car linked to a robbery on a street kiosk. DIAS officers Giorgos Skyloyiannis, 22, and Yiannis Evangelinelis, 23, were killed when gunmen opened fire during the chase.