Athens retirement home shut down for ‘hellish’ conditions

A private retirement home in Aghia Paraskevi, northern Athens, was shut down and sealed on Monday after Attica regional authorities, the Health Ministry and healthcare groups won a legal battle against the facility over the “hellish” conditions its 14 residents were kept in.

The “I Triti Ilikia” old people’s home had already been fined 150,000 euros before its owner disappeared last Friday, taking all the medical files with him, after a prosecutor indicted him and ruled that the health of the residents was being compromised.

Before the home was sealed, the 14 elderly people were evacuated to other facilities.

According to reports, the residents were left for weeks on end without any care, heating or regular food while hygiene conditions were dismal.

Deputy Regional Governor Giorgos Karameros said that the evacuation and sealing of the home is an indication that the Attica Regional Authority has “zero tolerance for those that seek to exploit human pain or weakness.”

“We put an end to the tragedy of 14 people,” he said, and called for the owner’s prosecution.