The Court of Appeals has recently ruled that there are no mitigating circumstances for the 10 individuals convicted in connection with the deadly wildfire in Mati.
This decision was reached by a majority vote, with the presiding judge expressing that some of the defendants should have received leniency.
In light of this ruling, the prosecutor proposed a sentence of 4 years for each count of manslaughter and 3 years for each count of bodily injury. For the resident of Penteli, the original 3-year sentence was recommended to be upheld.
The prosecutor justified these sentences by highlighting “the extent of the damage, the loss of life and serious injuries, the defendants’ experience as specialized officers, and the expectation from the state that such individuals should be equipped to make critical decisions that impact human lives.”
Yesterday, the following individuals were found guilty of manslaughter and bodily harm due to negligence:
- Sotiris Terzoudis (Fire Brigade Chief),
- Vasilis Matthaiopoulos (Deputy Chief),
- Ioannis Fostieris (Commander of ESKE),
- Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos (Commander of Athens Fire Services),
- Charalampos Chionis (Commander of East Attica Fire Services),
- Filippos Panteleakos (Director of Civil Protection Operations Center),
- Christos Golfinos (Director of “199” Emergency Line),
- Damianos Papadopoulos (Commander of the Nea Makri Fire Station),
- Ioannis Kapakis (former Secretary General for Civil Protection),
- and Konstantinos Angelopoulos, believed to be the source of the igniting fire.
Acquitted:
- Rena Dourou (former Governor of Attica),
- Ilias Psinakis (former Mayor of Marathon),
- Antonis Palapatzis, Vaios Thanassias, and Dimitris Stergiou-Kapsalis (local government officials),
- Christos Lambris (Fire & Rescue Director),
- Christos Drosopoulos (Captain of vessel FLOGA),
- Georgios Portozoudis (Commander of YEMS),
- Stefanos Kolokouris (former head of the EMAK special rescue unit),
- Charalampos Syrogiannis (former deputy commander of the Hellenic Police air division),
- Evangelos Bournous (former Mayor of Rafina).
Mitigating Circumstances
Earlier today, Prosecutor Stamatina Perimeni proposed recognizing the mitigating factor of a law-abiding life for 9 of the 10 convicted individuals. She recommended dismissing other mitigating claims related to actions without malicious intent, displays of good behavior afterward, and delays in the trial process.
The prosecutor stated that all defendants, except Konstantinos Angelopoulos, were eligible for leniency due to their lawful conduct, as Angelopoulos had a previous criminal record. She noted:
“All requested acknowledgment of lawful behavior; two argued they acted without base motives, while others sought consideration for their post-incident conduct or trial delays.”
She emphasized that leniency requires evidence of positive behavior, not just the absence of criminal actions, in accordance with precedent from Greece’s Supreme Court.
“The defendants have demonstrated a history of lawful conduct, with the exception of Angelopoulos, who has prior convictions,” she remarked. “All maintained careers and good reputations until July 2018.”
The proceedings are ongoing.
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