1 Tempe: The “zero hour” has arrived for the tragedy in Tempi, which left behind 57 dead and two main court cases in progress. The main part of the case file on the accident, which is being handled by the appellate investigator Sotiris Bakaimis in Larissa, is heading towards the end of the investigation and is expected to be taken to court within the judicial year 2024-2025.
At the same time, shortly before completion, there is also the investigation concerning contract 717 for the upgrade of the signaling system – remote control of the Athens-Thessaloniki-Promahonas railway network with co-financing by the EU. with a percentage of 85%, and the inability to complete it. The 23 defendants in the case have been charged with acts or omissions that led to repeated contract extensions and are on occasion charged with grant fraud, perjury, moral turpitude and perjury. According to the indictment, if the contract had been completed – as planned – in 2018, the Tempe tragedy would have been avoided, due to safety systems.
2 “Spartans”: The trial of former and current members of the “Spartiates” for the misdemeanor of deceiving the electorate “counts” for one postponement. The case went to court in July, but it was postponed indefinitely due to an obstruction in the face of defense attorneys. The date of the trial will be determined in the coming months, since, due to the new judicial charter, the specific case file now falls under the competence of the newly established Single-Member Misdemeanor Appeals Court. For the case, 13 people have been referred to trial, among them Ilias Kasidiaris as a moral perpetrator in deceiving the electoral body, 11 former and current MPs of the “Spartiat” party and a lawyer, who is accused of complicity in the above crime. The reason for the investigation conducted by the prosecutor of the Supreme Court, Georgia Adelini, was the complaints of the head of the “Spartians”, Vasilis Stiga, about Greek Mafia practices in the party.
3 Valyrakis: After two postponements, the case of the murder of Sifis Valyrakis will be heard on January 25, 2025. The venue of the trial was changed by a decision of the Supreme Court, while the two accused fishermen are sitting on the bench for the crime of first degree murder. According to the accusation, the men were on a fishing boat in the sea area of Eretria and obstructed the course of the former minister’s inflatable boat by making dangerous maneuvers. They then allegedly hit him with a wooden pole, causing him to fall into the sea and meet his tragic death.
4 “Ark of the World”: Father Antonios is facing two judicial compositions in the new judicial year for the case of the “Ark of the World” and the complaints of abusive behavior against visiting minors. The original case file that was filed has long since been separated, with the misdemeanors already being examined by the Three-member Misdemeanor Court of Athens and the trial being at the defense witness stage. Father Antonios and seven workers in the organization’s structures are sitting in the dock, who have been charged with offenses related to corporal punishment, abusive behavior and threats to hosted children.
However, the founder of the organization was arraigned on felony counts of child abuse of children under 14 years of age and children of 14 years and older consecutively and consecutively, and his trial is expected to be set for fall in Mixed Jury Court of Athens.
5 Papantoniou – Frigates: The curtain also falls in September on the trial for the modernization of the 6 frigates of the Navy, in 2003, which led to the trial of the former minister of PASOK, Giannos Papantoniou, his wife, Stavroula Kourakou, and their close friend, Andreas Bardis. September 12th has been set as the date for the purchase of the lawyers after the formulation of the prosecutor’s proposal that requested the conviction of the 3 defendants for money laundering by profession and by extension.
According to the charge, Giannos Papantoniou, during his tenure as Minister of National Defense, was bribed in the context of the contract for the modernization of 6 frigates from Thales Nederland BV and then, with the assistance of his co-accused, attempted to legalize the amount of 2,437,962 euros.
6 Apostolos Lytras: The criminologist and now temporary resident of Korydallos prisons, Apostolos Lytras, is expected to be brought to trial, possibly before Christmas, for the brutal beating of his wife, Sofia Polyzogopoulos.
Since June 20, when the arrest warrant against him was executed, the lawyer has been in prison facing the charge of intentional bodily harm, in the degree of a felony, against his wife, Sofia Polyzogopoulou. According to the indictment, the criminologist was forced to transfer his wife to a private hospital, where, despite the initial statement that she “fell down the stairs”, the attending physician, examining her facial injuries, called the authorities, notifying the incident and mobilizing the criminal procedure.
7 Petros Filippidis: On November 11, 2024, Petros Filippidis is expected to cross the threshold of the Mixed Jury of Athens, to be tried again for the complaints of two women against him. The case has already been postponed once at the beginning of June, due to an obstacle in the face of the actor’s defense lawyers, while the appellate court is asked to review the two attempted rapes for which he has been found guilty in the second degree. In February 2023, the once popular actor was sentenced in the first degree to 8 years in prison for two attempted rapes, while he was found not guilty of the felony count of subsequent rape, due to doubts. Magistrates did not grant him leniency, but he was given a suspended sentence pending an appeal.
8 Dimitris Lignadis: With the appellate trial of Dimitris Lignadis on September 9, the new judicial year opens. The actor and former artistic director of the National Theater is sitting in the dock to be tried for three acts of rape against minor boys at the time of commission. Dimitris Lignadis was sentenced at first instance to a 12-year prison sentence without mitigation for two of the four cases he was charged with, but an appeal was filed that sends him to the “stool” of the International Criminal Court for 3 of the 4 cases.
9 Eye: On July 23, 6 years have passed since the day when 104 people perished in the fire that consumed Penteli, Neo Voutza, Mati and the surrounding areas. The relatives of the victims, as well as the dozens of burn victims, are asking for justice, as they say every day, from the Three-member Misdemeanor Appeals Court, on whose bench all 21 defendants sit after relevant appeals. The hearing process has already started since the beginning of July, a few months after the first instance decision, due to the possible statute of limitations for the offenses. The decision of the court of first instance found 6 of the 21 defendants guilty and imposed prison sentences of 3 years to 11 years, which were converted into monetary terms, redeemable at 10 euros per day.
10 Pispirigou – Malena and Irida: The trial of Roula Pispirigou continues on September 17, with the critical testimony of the medical examiners who handled the death of Iris and Malena Daskalaki. The trial formally began in November 2023, however, the examination of witnesses began after the New Year of 2024, after the verdict had been pronounced for the murder of 9-year-old Georgina, with which the 35-year-old from Patras was sentenced to life imprisonment.
The court for the death of her other two children is now examining witnesses of special interest, as they are the scientists who can shed light on the causes of the death of the two youngest girls of the Daskalaki family, 6-month-old Iris and 3.5-year-old Malena.
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