2024-06-06 06:34:45
A jail sentence of two years and 6 months with a three-year suspension was imposed at present by the First Three-member Prison Court docket of Athens on the previous chief of the Fireplace Brigade Vassilis Matthaiopoulos, who was discovered responsible of the costs of tried unlawful violence and dereliction of obligation. The case issues the complaints made by the professional Dimitris Liotsios about threats and strain he obtained from the defendant throughout his investigation into the administration of the lethal hearth in Mati with 104 lifeless and dozens of burn victims.
The conviction in opposition to V. Matthaiopoulos (who had additionally been discovered responsible in the principle trial for Mati) brought on the satisfaction of family members of the victims, who burst into applause. In truth, it’s noteworthy that the defendant, who didn’t seem in court docket, accepted one of many fees (illegal violence) in a written assertion, even apologizing to Mr. Liotsios.
In his assertion, which was offered to the trial by his protection, the defendant acknowledged: “I want to state that I settle for the cost of tried illegal violence and categorical my honest apology for the above act to D. Liotsios and earlier than the court docket.” Even together with his assertion, Mr. Matthaiopoulos emphasised that he wouldn’t need his absence from the court docket to be perceived as disrespect. “Take a look at my little one that was burned,” mentioned the sufferer’s mom in response as the 2 sides developed their authorized arguments for the defendant’s plea. “I do not need him to lie, to inform us the authorized arguments himself and never another person. I misplaced my 35-year-old little one,” mentioned the lady.
The conviction was preceded by the attraction of the district legal professional, who requested the court docket to declare the defendant responsible. In her plea, the prosecutor identified, amongst different issues, that V. Matthaiopoulos was obliged to not intrude within the work of his subordinates and that he tried to stop the professional from citing in his report the actions and omissions of particular entities. Quite the opposite, based on the prosecutor, the defendant tried to ask Mr. Liotsio “to put in writing particular issues and check with the final situations that prevailed for the act of fireplace”.
Earlier, the professional had testified in court docket himself, who identified that from the second he began asking inquiries to ESKE concerning the hearth, he encountered “some reactions”. Characteristically, Mr. Liotsos testified: “They advised me that I had no proper based on the appointment (he was appointed as an professional by the prosecution) to ask such questions. The reactions have been from Matthaiopoulos. After we had the possibility to satisfy, he would inform me “what nonsense are you asking for, you are going to get into bother, watch out to not get into any hurt as a result of “if I mess with the forest workplace they’re going to open the door for me…”.
The witness additionally acknowledged that throughout the assembly he had in July 2018 with Vassilis Matthaiopoulos, he was requested – amongst different issues – not to attract up the professional opinion based on actual information however to attribute what occurred to the anarchic constructing and to say that there was loads of time for the well timed evacuation of residents. “I continued my analysis. After I obtained a second project, the method of response turned extra intense, both with gestures or by telling me “watch out what you write, you’ll get damage, we are going to ship you to Samos or Kos and that on the first hearth I cannot get airborne… there was fixed psychological strain ».
In truth, answering a related query from the president, the witness mentioned that he didn’t obtain “solely bowling” however “a direct menace.” At one other level in his testimony, the professional acknowledged: “…He discovered that the day has come for me to ship and he calls me to his workplace. We have been left alone and he began threatening me, “we are going to tear you aside”, “Dourou, the forest workplace”, that “he has an order from above to say this stuff, that is what he mentioned”. Then I referred to as Mr. Zagoraios (then head of the First Occasion Prosecutor’s Workplace) and advised him that Matthaiopoulos directed me how to attract up an professional report. He answered me: “we are going to do our obligation”. He advised me: “don’t be concerned if I am not right here both, you will be protected”.
Mr. Liotsos additionally spoke of sabotage on his machine with the company informing him, as he mentioned, of a human issue that brought on the machine’s nut to loosen. “My lawyer advised me to exit and denounce it publicly to cease the method. After a couple of months, the machine was stolen,” he confused.
President: Did the defendant have a private curiosity?
Witness: Do not go accused of the Eye as he did!
Lastly, two extra witnesses, hearth division officers, to whom the professional had confided what occurred to him, in addition to the journalist of the newspaper “I Kathimerini” Marianna Kakaunaki, who revealed the contentious conversations between the victims and the accused, additionally testified in court docket.
Supply protothema.gr