Dourou denies charges over deadly 2017 floods

The deaths and destruction wrought by the flash floods in Mandra, western Attica, in November 2017 were due to the improbable intensity of the weather event, former Attica regional governor Rena Dourou told a court on Friday, as she denied criminal charges against her. 

Dourou, and another nine officials, face charges that include manslaughter through neglect, grievous bodily harm, provoking floods through neglect, violating construction regulations and breach of duty. Twenty-five people died in the floods.

Dourou told judges that she was willing to assume the political responsibility for any oversights or omissions by junior officials that might have contributed to the disaster, however adding that she was not willing “to be sacrificed like another Iphigenia.”

The former leftist governor said that a total of 163 flood protection projects had been initiated or completed during her tenure, asking the question “what more would the average rational person do?”

The trial continues.