Two Albanian hijackers who held 23 passengers hostage on an Athens bus apologised to the Greek people in court today by saying it was a "stupid act", a judicial source said.
The two gunmen who took over a commuter bus on Wednesday for 19 hours, holding the passengers hostage at gunpoint and demanding a $1 million ransom, appeared before an investigative magistrate who ordered they be remanded in custody.
"Their actions are condemned not only by society but also by me personally," lawyer Mr Stefanos Lyberopoulos, defending one of the men, said after the hearing.
Mr Lyberopoulos said his client, Mr Leonard Murataz, had repeatedly apologised for his actions which were caused by what the gunman said were psychological problems.
"He is very sorry for what he has done. I believe that the time he will spend in prison will help him to come around and realise the dimension of the wrongful action he committed," Mr Lyberopoulos said, before police drove the two handcuffed men to an Athens prison.
Mr Murataz's accomplice, Mr Elton Resulaj, who had no legal representation, told the magistrate he apologised to all Greeks and Albanians.
"He told the magistrate he wanted to apologise to Greeks and the hundreds of thousands of his fellow Albanians living in Greece for what he said was a stupid act," a judicial source said.
Police revealed the two hijackers had been bluffing when they threatened to blow up the bus.