Release of director-actor convicted of rape causes uproar
The release of former National Theater director Dimitris Lignadis from Athens’ Korydallos Prison on Thursday afternoon – after posting bail of 30,000 euro – has caused a public outcry given that a mixed jury court found him guilty of two counts of rape on Wednesday.
The two rapes Lignadis was convicted of occurred in 2010 and 2015. The court handed him a 12-year suspended jail sentence. He was released pending his appeal.
Lignadis, who has denied all the charges, told journalists as he exited that “the truth will be established” at the end of the judicial process.
However, the decision to let him go is already being scrutinized by the Athens Appeals Prosecutor’s Office, which has taken up the matter and is considering the possibility of lodging an appeal so that there is retrial of the case.
Current legislation stipulates that the court must let the convicted persons out of prison, even if they have a long sentence, if certain conditions are met: that he is not a potential fugitive, has a permanent residence and so on.
