Athens prosecutor thwarts attempt to bring new Mati charges
The Athens prosecutor’s office has rejected a request by a magistrate investigating the catastrophic wildfire in the seaside town of Mati, eastern Attica, in 2018 to bring new felony charges of exposing people to danger against employees of the Greek Fire Service and the General Secretariat for Civil Protection, it emerged on Tuesday.
The request was rejected as the prosecutor deemed that there must be evidence of malice aforethought for such charges to be brought.
The belated charges were proposed on the basis of new evidence gathered from recent raids on state services that were involved in the operation to put out the blaze.
Last year charges of arson, manslaughter and grievous bodily harm through negligence were brought against 20 current and former state officials in connection with the blaze which left more than 100 dead.
