Andrianos Gurbatsis, technical adviser to the families of the victims of the Mati fire, testified before a three-member misdemeanor court today, again raising the question of whether some of the 21 defendants should be held responsible for a criminal offence.

“People were dying helpless. They knew that by their omissions they were endangering people’s lives, ”a retired lieutenant general of the fire department answered the question.

According to him, there was negligence on the part of responsible persons at various levels and he stated that “errors and omissions (…) are causally related to the tragic outcome” on July 23, 2018 in Mati.

Vasilis Kapernaros, lawyer for Varvara Voukaki-Fitru, who lost her husband and two children in Mati, raised the issue of creating a danger punishable as a felony..

As Ms. Wukaki’s lawyer stated: “With this answer, we proved that there is a problem of exposure. And speaking to you, Mr. Chairman (…) There is evidence that your court can decide on the criminal charge contained in the report.”