The court has shown no leniency towards the ten individuals found guilty over the wildfire in Mati that claimed over 100 lives, rejecting the request for mitigating circumstances. By majority decision, it dismissed the argument that the defendants had led law-abiding lives prior to the events, going against the prosecutor’s recommendation. Three additional mitigating factors – good behaviour after the incident, absence of selfish motives, and the lengthy duration of the trial – were also unanimously rejected. The prosecutor has proposed a sentence of four years in prison for each count of manslaughter through negligence and three years for each count of bodily harm. For the elderly man from whose yard the fire allegedly began, she has recommended maintaining the original three-year sentence handed down at first instance. He is the only defendant currently appealing his conviction.

Following the rejection of all mitigating factors, the court has withdrawn to deliberate on the final sentences, including whether they should be served concurrently and whether any of them might be suspended.

Despite the prosecution’s request to consider the defendants’ otherwise clean records, the judges ruled by a 2–1 vote not to recognise this as a mitigating factor. According to news247, the prosecutor had stated:

“All the defendants have led law-abiding lives until the events of July 2018, with the exception of Mr. Konstantinos Angelopoulos, who has prior convictions. They had careers and reputations and gave no cause to question their integrity. This mitigating factor should be granted to all except Mr. Angelopoulos.”

The court is expected to announce the exact prison terms soon, including whether the sentences will be merged into a single penalty and, crucially, whether they will be suspended.

Those Found Guilty:

  • Sotiris Terzoudis – then head of the Fire Service (manslaughter and bodily harm through negligence)
  • Vasilis Matthaiopoulos – then deputy operations chief (manslaughter and bodily harm through negligence)
  • Ioannis Fostieris – then head of ESKE (Central Coordinating Firefighting Body) (manslaughter and bodily harm through negligence)
  • Christos Golfino – head of the 199 emergency line of the Fire Service (manslaughter and bodily harm through negligence)
  • Filippos Panteleakos – then director of the Civil Protection Operations Centre (manslaughter and bodily harm through negligence)
  • Damianos Papadopoulos – fire chief in Nea Makri (manslaughter and bodily harm through negligence)
  • Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos – commander of Athens Fire Services (manslaughter and bodily harm through negligence)
  • Charalambos Chionis – commander of Eastern Attica Fire Services (manslaughter and bodily harm through negligence)
  • Ioannis Kapakis – General Secretary for Civil Protection (manslaughter and bodily harm through negligence)
  • Konstantinos Angelopoulos – local resident from whose yard the fire is believed to have started (arson)

Acquitted:

The following individuals were acquitted as the court found insufficient grounds to establish intent, which would be required for more serious charges such as felony-level exposure to danger:

  • Rena Dourou – then Governor of Attica
  • Ilias Psinakis – then Mayor of Marathon
  • Antonis Palapatzis, Vaios Thanassias, Dimitris Stergiou-Kapsalis – local government officials
  • Christos Lambris – fire rescue director
  • Christos Drosopoulos – commander of the FLOGA vessel
  • Georgios Portozoudis – commander of YEMS (Medical Emergency Response Unit)
  • Stefanos Kolokouris – then head of EMAK (Special Disaster Response Unit)
  • Charalambos Syrogiannis – former deputy commander of police air operations
  • Evangelos Bournous – then Mayor of Rafina

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