A recent ruling by the Athens Single-Member Court of Appeals resulted in an acquittal for 11 current and former MPs from the “Spartans” party, as well as for Ilias Kasidiaris, who faced accusations of instigating voter deception, and a lawyer implicated in the scheme.
The court aligned with the prosecutor’s prior recommendation, which called for the defendants’ acquittal.
While delivering the verdict, the presiding judge cited the relevant legal standards, stating: “I cannot affirm that deception was established. It is unreasonable to assert that voters are unaware of their actions. Hence, I find them not guilty.” This announcement was met with applause from those present in the courtroom.
Notably, during the last hearing, Vasilis Stigas had testified, previously describing a “Greek mafia” and blackmail within the party, implicitly indicating Ilias Kasidiaris.
However, in court, Mr. Stigas recanted his earlier claims, stating they stemmed from a moment of poor judgment and misinformation.
Following Stigas’ remarks, an inquiry was initiated by Georgia Adilini, the prosecutor of the Supreme Court, which led to the trial.
Ultimately, today’s ruling acquitted all the defendants. The prosecutor emphasized in her final recommendation:
“There is no proof that any voter was misled, nor is there evidence of any specific voters or a number of voters who were allegedly deceived. The initial 11 defendants were identified by Vasilis Stigas rather than Ilias Kasidiaris. They acted independently of Kasidiaris and had no intent to undermine Stigas. The election results for the party resulted from Kasidiaris’ support, but this does not equate to deceiving the electorate. No voters have come forward with complaints of deception. I recommend acquittal for all defendants.”
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