Mother makes EU legal history following brutal attack on son (From Croydon Guardian)

Wallington Mother Maggie Hughes has law passed in European Parliament to protect tourists

3:21pm Thursday 13th September 2012 in News By James Pepper

A mother who saw her son recover from life threatening injuries after being attacked on holiday has won her fight to have EU laws changed to better protect victims of crime abroad.

Maggie Hughes took her fight for justice to the European Union after struggling to get the help she needed when her son Robbie was beaten to within an inch of his life.

Robbie Hughes, a former Sutton United and Croydon Athletic footballer, needed four life-saving operations after he left in a coma by the attack in Malia, Crete, in June 2008. 

After the attack, Mrs Hughes, from Wallington, was faced with a wall of silence over the attack, due to translator problems, and the lack of provisions for tourists who are victims of serious crime abroad.

But she never gave up, and presented her Victims of Crime Abroad campaign to Greek ambassador Arsteidis Sandis.

The campaign gathered momentum, and now, four long years after the attack, Mrs Hughes has seen members of the European Parliament approve her bill in Strasbourg.

EU politicians this week backed the law which will see the victims of crime abroad get more help with language and local law when faced with a terrifying situation like the Hughes' faced. 

She said: "It's fantastic news. This definitely opens up the way for all victims to feel safer when they go abroad."

But the changes in the law will come too late for her and her son Robbie, who still face a lack of support at the upcoming trial of those accused of the attack.

Six British men, Curtis Taylor, 22, Daniel Bell, 23, Sean Branton, 22, all from Horley, Benjamin Herdman, 22, from Worth and George Hollands, 24, from Reigate in Surrey, and Joseph Bruckland, 22, from Hookwood, face trial in Greece in November 20.

They deny the allegations.