Orthodox priest in attack charges

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A Greek Orthodox priest has been charged with blowing up a car belonging to a man he wrongly suspected of being his wife's lover.

The priest is due to face a number of other charges when he appears in court in northern Greece later this summer.

Police say the feud between the priest and the man, a grocer, began with a series of threatening anonymous notes, warning him his car would be destroyed.

The intimidation ended in a petrol bomb being placed under the man's car.

Imaginary affair

On one occasion before setting off to drive, he noticed that the brakes had been tampered with.

In the end the petrol bomb was planted underneath the car, causing considerable damage.

The grocer thought a commercial rival was to blame, but then the priest visited the shopkeeper, accusing him of what turns out to be an imaginary affair, and threatened him.

The dispute has scandalised the village of Peristera in the northern peninsula of Halkidiki, near the city of Thessaloniki.

The priest is facing charges of causing an explosion, attempting to cause grievous bodily harm, intimidation and causing damage to property.

If convicted, he could be given a jail sentence. But if the term is for less than five years he could pay a fine instead.