Disappointed and angry with the verdict of the Three-Member Court of Appeal are the victims’ relatives and survivors of the wildfire tragedy in Mati, eastern Attica, in July 2018.
A “shameful” day for the Greek judiciary, “they put a tombstone on those left behind,” they told media.
“The meaning of human life and Justice are non-existent in Greece,” a fire survivor said.
Relatives and survivors of the Mati tragedy were for one more time deeply disappointed as those responsible for the dozens deaths and injuries may have been found guilty, however, for a misdemeanor!
Victims’ relatives and survivors hanged 120 black balloons at the court fence. “the guilty should be in jail”, “Greece sleep. your childrne are being murdered.”
The court found 10 out of a total of 21 defendants guilty in the trial for Mati, convicting the then Secretary General of Civil Protection as well as the former head and the deputy head of the Fire Department, then deputy head, the former Commander of the Athens Fire Department, the former Commander of the East Attica Fire Department, and Konstantinos Angelopoulos, the elderly man who started the fire the fire burning dry branches.
They were found guilty for the 120 deaths and the 57 injured.
Not guilty were fount the former Regional Governor of Attica as well as two mayors in the fire areas.
The judges found that these officials had through actions or omissions, by virtue of their position, contributed to the 100-plus deaths and dozens of injuries caused by the fire that tore through the seaside town, among citizens left helpless by the authorities in the face of the advancing flames.
They were found guilty of multiple counts of homicide through negligence, causing bodily harm through negligence and for other specific acts and omissions.
For the key verdicts, the court’s decisions were unanimous, while in other cases they were reached by majority.
The court will now consider extenuating circumstances before handing down the sentences that will be announced tomorrow, Wednesday.
PS And to think that the high ranking officer of the fire service were promoted by the Mitsotakis government when Tsipras lost the elections in summer 2019.