By decision of the Court of Appeals, four defendants are being sent to prison over the deadly fire in Mati: Sotiris Terzoudis (then Fire Service Chief), Vasilis Matthaiopoulos (Deputy Chief), Ioannis Fostieris (Commander of ESKE), and Ioannis Kapakis (then Secretary General for Civil Protection).

The court accepted the earlier recommendation of prosecutor Stamatina Perimeni and decided that these specific defendants will be incarcerated. In contrast, the other five convicted individuals received financial penalties.

Earlier, the court had not recognized any mitigating circumstances for the nine convicted.

The Court of Appeals issued its verdict today after a lengthy evidentiary process, marking a sharp departure from the decision delivered about a year ago by the lower court. At that time, only six of the total 21 defendants had been found guilty, and they were given lenient, even redeemable, sentences. That first-instance decision sparked intense backlash from the victims’ families, prompting the Supreme Court Prosecutor’s Office to file an appeal almost immediately.