Fugitive inmate who disabled ankle monitor arrested in Piraeus

An inmate of the Greek capital’s Korydallos Prison who violated his educational leave last week by disabling his ankle monitor was tracked down and arrested in the port city of Piraeus on Wednesday.

Vassilis Dimakis, who is serving a sentence of 44 years for multiple armed robberies, illegal gun possession and forgery, is enrolled at the Athens University School of Law and was granted leave to attend classes.

In a letter sent to the website 2020mag.gr last week, the fugitive said that after four years of abiding the rules of furlough, he decided to tamper with his monitor and violate the terms of his leave to protest Korydallos Prison’s “incompetent administration” and alleged violations of inmates’ rights.

Dimakis, 43, gained national prominence in 2018 after going on an extended hunger strike in demand of the right to attend university.