A Greek coroner is under investigation after falsely claiming that a Syrian baby had been sexually abused before she died, leading to her parents' detention and a two-day media frenzy.
"The autopsy showed signs of abuse, sexual abuse," coroner Sotiris Bouzianis told reporters earlier this week.
"In our experience, this is unheard of."
The 11-month-old, who had microcephaly, a condition where the head is abnormally small, was already dead when her parents brought her to a hospital on Sunday.
Her cause of death is still unclear, Bouzianis said.
The parents -- who are living in Greece as refugees -- and another Syrian couple were detained by police and the girl's father was subjected to DNA tests.
Officials determined on Wednesday that the injuries were caused by enemas that were part of the baby's microcephaly treatment -- as her mother had insisted from the start.
In the meantime, the case sparked a host of xenophobic comments -- both from TV pundits and from the couple's neighbours in the Athens district where the family lived in rented accommodation under the refugee programme.
"How could this monster do such a thing, imagine what else these sort of people can do, not even an animal would do that," a guest speaker said on ANT1 TV.
The justice ministry called for a disciplinary investigation into the coroner's statement and the parents demanded an official apology.
On Friday, the family left their house.
A spokesman for the UN refugee agency criticised the way the case was dealt with, saying it was "beyond regrettable that this was handled irresponsibly by the coroner". Boris Cheshirkov told AFP some news reports had been "sensational, stigmatising and plainly cruel".
"We all have a duty of care, balanced reporting is essential, all the more so in these heartrending circumstances," he said.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
