The Athens prosecutor investigates whether charges against 12 Fire Brigade officers during the devastating fire at Mati in 2018 will be upgraded to prosecution for fatal exposure of citizens to danger. the decision is expected to be announced.
The upgrading of charges to criminal level is at the urging of the chief investigator in the case, Athanassios Marnieris, who has refiled the request after its rejection a month ago. So far, court officials have been taking depositions, and formal charges are pending.
According to case file information released recently by “Kathimerini” newspaper, Marnieris is seeking criminal charges for the officers because they did not use available means to contain the fire that killed 102 residents. The officers were also not on site, and exhibited “arrogance, attempting to cover up the events, even resorting to blackmail,” according to media reports.
The investigator has clarified that his request relates only to the officers then in charge, not to the firefighters on the ground who did their best to save people.
