Seven months after the forced adjournment of her trial Stupidity Stupidityunless there are unforeseen circumstances, is expected to start on June 19, when it is determined that it will be held in the Tripartite Court of Criminal Appeals as Athens Bar Association had long made it clear that the lawyers would be present at the hearings in the case with a special leave granted to them.

Trial with their main defendants Dimitris and George Kutsoliutso, once powerful major shareholders of the company, survived forty waves. It began at the beginning of 2022, that is, a year and a half ago, and a criminal case in the case had already been initiated at least 4.5 years before.

While the court has made every effort to ensure that the trial proceeds and ends, its efforts nevertheless run counter to the Bar Association’s decision that lawyers refrain from trials in which defendants are tried for crimes of organized crime, among other things, because the Bar Association disagreed with the amendment to the legislation introduced in April 2022. A controversial rule that provoked a reaction from the bar, which led to many months of refraining from legal activity, provided that persons convicted of a number of crimes, including in a criminal organization, either for a felony or for a misdemeanor, that is, for serious or minor sentences, they will henceforth be in prison and serve their sentences.

In the Folli Follie case, which began with obstacles since January 2022, a total of 22 hearings were held, at which, as the court stated, many procedural and substantive problems were considered before the forced adjournment and suspension of the case. However, the lawyer’s abstinence, which began in April 2022, left no room for the trial to continue. Seven adjournments were made to allow the trial to continue. In total, 35 meetings were canceled and, finally, at the end of 2022, before Christmas, the chairman of the court, Maria Andreopoulou, causing a sensation, postponed the trial, making a furious accusation against everyone of its non-continuation.

Restriction risk

The president of the Athens Bar Association, Mr. Vervezos, emphasizes to K that neither the defense nor the civil suit has requested a license in the past.

The justification for the forced adjournment of the trial, publicly announced by the President of the Court last December, included, among other things, the indication that the indictments had an immediate risk of prescription, a fact that, as Ms. Andreopoulou said, no one was stopped by break after break in litigation and the cancellation of court hearings. The President specifically emphasized that in this case there are actions that will soon be stopped, what this means for the effective administration of justice, while she did not fail to refer to the international aspect of the scandal and the report for this reason and beyond. Greek borders of the Greek judiciary.

Then the chairman of the process, who had reached a real impasse due to the lawyer’s abstinence, and also because even the Ministry of Justice did not make significant efforts to continue the process, started talking about the fact that the judges were being held hostage.

“We are hostages,” the President emphasized then, before announcing the trial, adding that the judges who participated in the composition of the court could not try the defendants according to Folli-Folli, nor could they consider other cases, since they gradually appeared at the headquarters, although there was no trial…

The rationale behind the court’s decision to forcibly adjourn the trial emphasizes why this trial must be terminated. “This is reported to be an extremely serious test for domestic law and order, with a negative international impact.”

Thereafter, the trial is scheduled to begin on 19 June, and the President of the Athens Bar Dimitris Vervezos with his “K” application he points out that the lawyers were given permission to be present, but emphasizes that in the past, before the suspension of the trial, neither the defense nor the civil action requested permission.

However, it is worth noting that the defendants, who are only 13 people, face serious charges of financial crimes, falsifying balance sheets and manipulating the financial statements of the company, and they are also accused of creating a criminal organization. What is certain, however, is that the test will not be completed until 2024, and it still has a long way to go if all goes smoothly.