Justice Minister: Koufodinas prison transfer to have no impact on sentence

Justice Minister Stavros Kontonis issued a statement on Friday claiming that the transfer of November 17 hitman to an agricultural prison from Attica's high-security Korydallos penitentiary would not result in a reduction of the convict's sentence.

The move was part of a broader plan to turn Korydallos into a prison for defendants awaiting trial and to move convicts to other facilities, Kontonis said.

"The transfer to another jail does not entail special treatment, a reduction of the sentence or partially free residence," Kontonis said. "The sentence will continue to be served as normal," he said, adding that there are a large number of convicts with life sentences at the Volos facility.

The minister also hit out at conservative leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis for connecting the transfer of Koufodinas to last week's fatal wildfires.

The ND leader had hit out at the government for "serving serial killers" when it should be showing solidarity to the victims of the fires.