THESSALONIKI – A Thessaloniki misdemeanors court on Wednesday found three men guilty of attacking the mayor of the northern Greek city, Yiannis Boutaris, over the weekend, in an attack that sent him to hospital.

The court handed a 14- and 21-month suspended sentence to two of the men, both aged 20. A third man, aged 36, was also given a 21-month sentence and he was allowed to buy it out at a rate of 5 euros per day as he did not qualify for a suspended sentence.

Reading out his decision, the presiding judge accepted the incident was “an organized attack against the mayor,” a position shared by the prosecutor.

Man arrested on charges of beating Thessaloniki Mayor Yiannis Boutaris escorted by the police at the court, May 23, 2018. (MotionTeam/Vasilis Ververidis)