The Athens Court of Appeal has delivered its long-awaited verdict on the 2018 Mati fire, finding 10 of the 21 defendants guilty of criminal negligence, including senior officials from the Fire Service and the former Secretary General for Civil Protection. The court ruled that these individuals, through their actions or omissions, contributed to one of the deadliest wildfires in Greek history.
The court unanimously or by majority found that their failures- including poor coordination, failure to mobilise resources, and lack of public warning- played a decisive role in the loss of 104 lives and dozens of serious injuries, with victims left completely unaided in the face of the disaster.
Those found guilty face charges of serial negligent homicide and serial negligent bodily harm, relating to specific actions and failures to act.
Who was found guilty?
Among those convicted are eight senior officials of the Fire Service, the former General Secretary for Civil Protection, and the private citizen whose negligence sparked the blaze.
Guilty – by unanimous or majority decision:
- Sotiris Terzoudis, former Fire Service Chief – Unanimously guilty of all charges. Failed to mobilise maritime and air resources, and did not propose pre-emptive evacuation.
- Vasilios Matthaiopoulos, former Deputy Chief – Unanimously guilty. Did not initiate evacuation or deploy marine firefighting units.
- Ioannis Fostieris, Unified Operations Centre Commander – Unanimously guilty. Misallocated a helicopter and failed to coordinate rescue efforts.
- Christos Golfinos, Director of emergency line 199 – Guilty. Failed to send firefighting vehicles to the fire zone.
- Filippos Panteleakos, Director of Civil Protection Operations Centre – Unanimously guilty.
- Damianos Papadopoulos, Commander of Nea Makri Fire Department (designated first on scene) – Guilty by majority. Failed to appear at the fire site.
- Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos, Athens Fire Department Commander (second on scene) – Unanimously guilty.
- Charalambos Chionis, East Attica Fire Department Commander (third on scene) – Unanimously guilty. Failed to report fire progression.
- Ioannis Kapakis, former Secretary General for Civil Protection – Unanimously guilty. Did not issue timely warnings to citizens or authorities.
- Konstantinos Angelopoulos, resident of Daou Penteli – Unanimously guilty of negligent arson. His negligence caused the initial outbreak.
Who was acquitted?
Unanimously acquitted (or by majority):
- Rena Dourou, former Attica regional governor
- Ilias Psinakis, former mayor of Marathon
- Evangelos Bournous, former mayor of Rafina–Pikermi
- Dimitrios Stergiou-Kapsalis, former mayor of Penteli
- Four deputy mayors and civil aviation/fire officials
- Several officers in charge of air support, including helicopter pilots and flight coordinators
The court ruled that for these individuals, no willful misconduct (conditional intent) could be established- a legal requirement for felonies such as “exposure to danger.”
The decision on mitigating circumstances and potential sentencing adjustments will follow in the next stage of the judicial process.
Also read: Mati fire verdict expected today in Athens
