Development is expected to start if Special Court accept the proposal made yesterday by the prosecutor of the trial, Olga Smyrlis, to send the protocol of the testimony of the businessman’s secretary to the prosecutor Christou Kalogritsawho told the court about “sacks and envelopes of money from a businessman in the SYRIZA party”.

The Prosecutor based her request on assurances of the Special Court’s prestige “because it should not be here,” as she argued, “an arena of political clashes, not to say an arena. Whatever is brought into the case for bags, money, etc., we are obliged to act accordingly. Therefore, I will ask you to send the protocol to the prosecutor’s office for verification.

Ms Smirlis’s proposal, if accepted, would launch an investigation into what Christos Kalogritsa’s secretary, Eutalia Diamanti, denounced in the Special Court’s audience, sparking days of political clashes and a bitter political conflict between the government and the official opposition.

In any case, the decision of the Special Court will determine the next day what Secretary Kalogritsa complained about, a decision that is expected to be delivered, barring unforeseen circumstances, in February.

They won’t apologize

While the prosecutor’s proposal caused sensation and political upheaval yesterday, businessman Christos Kalogritsas, who is on trial with former minister Nikos Pappa for the backstory of a TV license competition, told the Special Court that he would not apologize either.

In a statement through his lawyers, Andreas Loverdos and Angelos Karaalios, the businessman under investigation stressed, among other things, that his failure to appear before the Special Court was based on the recognition that the court “has at its disposal “testimony, there are documents, there is everything that I told the investigation, there is everything that I said to the competent committee of the chamber. First of all, these are the facts themselves, the existence of which cannot be disputed by any communicative pedagogy.

The objection was rejected

On the other hand, the Special Court dismissed the objection presented by the defense of Nikos Pappas, through his lawyer Yiannis Mantsuranis, regarding the forgery of electronic messages exchanged between the former minister and Christos Kalogritsa. The objection also had a second part, which was also not accepted, that the submission of communications to the court violates the protection of personal data.

However, the fact that the two defendants – Nikos Pappas and Christos Kalogritsas – will not be present for the apology shortens, except in cases of unforeseen circumstances, the duration of the hearing, since prosecutor Olga Smyrlis has already been scheduled to appear in court on February 6. of the Special Court, foreshadowing the delivery of the decision no later than the end of February and in no case before the announcement of the forthcoming parliamentary elections. The decision of the Special Court is irrevocable, it does not change in any way.

IOANNA MANDRU