Assault Britons fly home

The Johnson brothers claim they were attacked by police

Two brothers convicted for fighting a shopkeeper in Greece are on their way back to Britain, according to their father.

Christian Johnson, 22, and Frederick, 18, decided to fly home early because they feared confrontation with the Greek police, said their father Andy Staermose.

The pair were found guilty in a Greek court of assaulting Athens café owner Dimitris Karamichalos on Sunday in a fight over a spilt kebab.

The brothers received one-year jail sentences but the sentences can be commuted to a fine under Greek law.

The men, who claimed they were beaten by police officers, lodged appeals against their convictions, allowing them to leave the country.

The boys are coming home because they are worried about what the police are going to do Andy Staermose

Their mother Vera, 45, was convicted of resisting arrest and sentenced to three months in jail or a fine of 817 euros (£570).

She paid the fine, thereby waiving her right to appeal.

Andy Staermose, 45, from East Sussex, said his sons had planned to return to the UK from Athens on Monday, but feared police reprisals.

He said: "The boys are coming home because they are worried about what the police are going to do.

"They said the police have threatened to get revenge and so they believe the best course of action is to come home."

Stamping

The brothers had filed an attempted murder charge against Mr Karamichalos, he added.

The family, who emigrated to Greece from Tunbridge Wells in Kent more than a year ago, were arrested in the early hours of Sunday.

The brothers were accused of stamping on Dimitris Karamichalos' leg during the fracas in the Acropolis area of the city.

Mr Staermose said the brothers will fight their conviction

But they accused Mr Karamichalos of hitting Christian Johnson on the head with an iron bar after seeing him spill salad from a kebab outside his café.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the men said they were beaten up in an Athens police station shortly after their arrest.

Christian Johnson said: "My brother and I were thrown on to a bench, still next to one another, and subjected to what I can only describe as torture.

"During this prolonged beating the baton struck us across the back, the back of our arms and across the back of my left leg which now has a large haematoma."

Under Greek law the men can pay a fine of 10 euros (about £7) a day for a year, instead of going to prison.

They are due to arrive at Gatwick Airport at 0130 BST on Saturday.

Vera Johnson, her fiance Andy Glover, and Mrs Johnson's parents remain in Greece.