Thierry Roussel, father of Athina Onassis, heiress to the Aristotle Onassis shipping fortune, has had his five year jail sentence cut by a court in Athens.

After the appeal the court reduced the sentence by 18 months on the grounds that he had no previous criminal convictions.

Roussel was convicted for five years at the end of 1998 for slander, perjury and other charges brought against him by the four Greek trustees overseeing the shipping fortune of his teenage daughter Athina.

Roussel,