Ten individuals convicted for the fatal fire incident occurring near Athens in 2018.
Fiery Verdict:
A Greek court has slapped negligence charges on 10 individuals for their role in the devastating 2018 Mati wildfire, claiming more than 100 lives near Athens. Among the accused were eight top fire officials, a former civil protection secretary, and the man responsible for igniting the blaze in the first place.
The Athens Court of Appeal handed down their judgement on Tuesday, convicting the aforementioned individuals of crimes including manslaughter by negligence. Previously, only six of these defendants were found guilty, prompting the group to appeal the earlier decision. After initially receiving sentences of up to five years, the punishments were commuted into fines.
Konstantinos Aggelopoulos, the man who started the fire in his yard, was unanimously found guilty of arson. However, major political figures such as Rena Dourou, former regional governor of Attica, and Elias Psinakis, former mayor of the town of Marathon, were acquitted this week by the appeals court. Mitigation pleas from the defence are expected soon, with sentences to be announced on Wednesday.
The families of the victims expressed their disappointment with the verdict, while their continued pursuit of justice marks the end of a grueling 11-month trial.
Insights: The convicted individuals' charges primarily focused on negligence leading to loss of life and breach of duty. Here are the guilty parties and a list of their specific negligence charges:
- Sotiris Terzoudis - Former fire brigade chief, found guilty for not mobilizing coast guard vessels, relocating aircraft to prevent immobilization, and failing to recommend an organized precautionary evacuation. He was also found guilty for diverting a helicopter from Eastern Attica to the Corinth refineries.
- Vasilieos Matheopoulos - Fire Brigade Deputy Chief, found guilty for the same offenses as Terzoudis.
- Ioannis Fostieris - Head of the joint operations coordination center, found guilty of negligence.
- Christos Golfinos - Head of the 199 emergency call service, found guilty of negligence.
- Filippos Panteleakos - Director of the fire brigade's civil protection operations center, found guilty of negligence.
- Damianos Papadopoulos - Chief of the Nea Makri fire brigade station, found guilty despite being absent during the fire.
- Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos - Commander of the Athens Fire Brigade Command, found guilty for not providing briefings on the course of the fire.
- Charalambos Chionis - Commander of the East Attica Fire Brigade, guilty of the same offense as Panagiotopoulos.
- Konstantinos Aggelopoulos - While not directly involved in response negligence charges, he was found guilty of arson through negligence for starting the fire.
- The remaining individual is unnamed in the given data, but they usually refer to senior fire officials or fire brigade personnel involved in the negligence charges.
Code Red: Greece Braces for Wildfire Season
With wildfire risks on the rise, Greece is bolstering its firefighting forces and deploying drones to help combat potential blazes. Stay tuned for more updates on the country's preparation for the challenging season ahead.
Mati Fire SagaPursuit of Justice in GreeceGreek TragedyPunishing NegligenceJustice Delayed, Justice DeniedChasing a VerdictThe Mati Fire: Heaping Despair on LossThe Long Road to Accountability
- Politics and general news outlets in Greece may discuss the Mati wildfire verdict, focusing on the acquittal of certain major political figures despite the convictions of other individuals for negligence and manslaughter.
- War-and-conflicts, crime-and-justice, and local news sources may report on the ongoing efforts to prevent wildfires in Greece, especially during the upcoming wildfire season, following the devastating Mati wildfire that resulted in over 100 deaths in 2018.
