A 2-year-old boy who had been badly beaten by his mother’s boyfriend died in Athens on Tuesday.
Doctors at the Aglaia Kyriakou children’s Hospital said that the toddler had suffered serious head injuries, while his legs and arms were also hurt.
The boy’s mother, 22, is facing charges of exposing a minor to danger.
Her 23-year-old boyfriend was charged last Saturday with causing grievous bodily harm.
Both are due to face a magistrate on Wednesday in Corinth, where the attack occurred.
The child’s mother went to the police on Saturday night to inform authorities that she and her son had been attacked by her boyfriend.
She received first-aid treatment while her child was taken to the hospital.
Afterward the 22- and 23-year-old, both of whom are Roma, were arrested.
A study conducted as part of the broader European-wide Policy Investigation in Europe on Child Endangerment and Support (PIECES) investigating the impact of policies relating to violence against children found a 20% increase in Greece in the number of children up to 19 years old that fell victim to murder and other violent crimes from 2012-2013.
The PIECES initiative is primarily aimed at studying the impact of committees to evaluate child deaths in Europe, in order to prevent incidents of child abuse, accidents and suicides. Committees of this kind currently exist in the United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden and Romania.
Hellenic Society of Forensic Medicine President Grigoris Leon regretted the fact that there was no committee along these lines in Greece, noting that important actions were being put on hold due to the economic crisis. He said that programs evaluating the cause of child deaths would help the state take preventive action.
