The relatives of the victims of the tragedy fell from the “clouds” today Eye, with the court’s verdict finding only six of the 21 defendants guilty. The truth is, however, that the direction the case would take was seen before the trial had even begun by specific decisions of the Court of Justice that were completely inconsistent with the climate personally cultivated by Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the ND.
Three times the investigator Thanasis Marneris, who had undertaken the investigation of the case, had sent written requests to the Athens District Attorney’s Office in 2020 and 2021 requesting that the indictment be upgraded from a misdemeanor to a felony for some of the Fire Service officers. and Civil Protection. Among them a series of senior officers whom he had upgraded and promoted to key positions Mitsotakis government.
See also: Upgrade of the indictment for the Eye: For a felony five senior officers of the Fire Department
In fact, in April 2022, the Judicial Council had decided to upgrade the indictment for five former Fire Department officers, as well as to refer a total of 13 people to trial for misdemeanors. At the time, there were many who had spoken for the justification of investigator Marneris.
See also: The officers rewarded by Mitsotakis
In particular, the Council of Misdemeanors of Athens had ordered a further main investigation to be carried out for five senior officers of the Fire Department for the felony offense of fatal exposure. These are five of the 11 Fire Department officers for whom the investigator Marneris had come to the conclusion that at the time of the fire they were looking at their careers and their personal benefits.
According to the investigator Ath. Marneris, these officers expected favorable treatment in the future from the authorities – and they succeeded. The government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis rewarded and upgraded the top officers as shown by the annual firefighting reviews in both 2020 and 2021.
By the same will, the Judicial Council chaired by Mr. Giorgos Kassimis and members of the trial judges Theodora Traianidou and Niki Revythi, had ordered the referral to trial for misdemeanor charges of a total of 13 involved, as well as the complete discharge of 10 persons from the Police area and deputy mayors.
Shortly after, the Prosecutor’s Office of Appeals filed an appeal against this council. The Appeals Council of Athens agreed with the appeal brought by the Appeals Prosecutor Panagiotis Meidanis and ordered the referral of 21 defendants to a trial for misdemeanor offenses. As it happened.
See also: Eye: The indictment is not upgraded – 21 are referred for a misdemeanor
The expectations that Mitsotakis had cultivated
The truth is that for the tragedy in Mati, the current Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis himself had cultivated high expectations for the performance of Justice from the first moment of the deadly tragedy. Its political exploitation exceeded any precedent, reaching the point where government ministers such as Michalis Chrysochoidis openly accused ministers of the then SYRIZA government, saying that “you burned them”.
Indeed the tragedy in Mati was a national tragedy, which caused anger and pain to all the citizens of this country. Any political force that was in opposition would obviously hold political responsibility to the then government and ensure that such a tragedy is prevented from happening again. After all, the one who governs bears the responsibility, as can be seen from the tragedy in Tempi that “bloodied” Kyriakos Mitsotakis in the polls.
However, the political exploitation of the tragedy in Mati by Mitsotakis and the ND exceeded all limits and touched the limits of “grave digging”. To the point that the relatives of the victims reasonably expected that the “crow of Justice” will be “heavy”. But there was an asterisk in the case that few paid attention to.
While Kyriakos Mitsotakis was making “fiery arguments” about the tragedy in Mati from the floor of the Parliament and blasting his political opponents, he was upgrading officers under trial for Mati to the leadership of the Fire Department. Imagine a judge who will be called to try a Fire Service officer who, being under trial, is promoted by the prime minister to the leadership of the House. Even more so, in the Greek Judiciary, which 50 years after the post-colonization is still trying to find its steps in relation to the legislative and executive power.
Read also:
.
#Mati #investigator #asked #vain #convert #offenses #felonies #expectations #raised #Mitsotakis
