ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A Greek court convicted five former firefighting and disaster response officials on Monday over the deadliest wildfire in the country's history, with more than 100 people killed outside the capital. But some survivors were outraged when they were fined and let go.
The 2018 fire swept through the seaside town of Mati, east of Athens. Residents and vacationers, many trapped in their cars, were killed as they tried to escape.
The officials, including a former fire chief, received sentences of between 15 and 111 years for multiple counts of criminal negligence resulting in injury and loss of life. But the presiding judge ordered that sentences could be served concurrently, capping jail time at five years.
All five convicted officials were let go and allowed to pay fines in lieu of serving their sentences. Under Greek law, payment can be deferred pending an appeal.
A sixth defendant, the owner of the property where the fire started, received a three-year sentence for negligence and was also let go. Fifteen other firefighting officials, police, civil protection and local government officials were cleared of all charges.
Irini Maroupa, one of the lawyers representing the victims, told reporters outside the courthouse that her clients were bitterly disappointed.
“All sense of shame has been lost,” she said. “The victims of this fire who died in horrific circumstances, and those injured who will suffer for the rest of their lives — and this was clearly illustrated in court — will never have the opportunity to find peace in their soul.” During the trial, fire officials described the overwhelming circumstances as the fire swept through Mati and neighboring Nea Voutsa, with high temperatures and gale-force winds, and noted that the blaze blocked many potential evacuation routes.
FILE - Buildings burn in the town of Mati, east of Athens, Greece, Monday, July 23, 2018. A court on Monday, April 29, 2024, has convicted five former Fire Service and disaster response officials over a 2018 wildfire outside Athens that killed more than 100 people. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis, File)
FILE - People stand amid the charred remains of burned-out cars in Mati east of Athens, Greece, Tuesday, July 24, 2018. A court on Monday, April 29, 2024, has convicted five former Fire Service and disaster response officials over a 2018 wildfire outside Athens that killed more than 100 people. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis, File)
BANSKA BYSTRICA, Slovakia (AP) — Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico is in stable but serious condition on Thursday after being shot multiple times in an assassination attempt a day earlier, a hospital official said.
Doctors are continuing to treat Fico in an attempt to improve his condition, Defense Minister Robert Kalinak told reporters outside the hospital in Banska Bystrica.
The government says five shots were fired at Fico on Wednesday outside a cultural center where he was meeting with supporters.
A suspect was in custody, and an initial investigation found “a clear political motivation” behind the assassination attempt, Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok said Wednesday.
Fico has long been a divisive figure in Slovakia and beyond, but his return to power last year on a pro-Russian, anti-American message led to even greater worries among fellow European Union members that he would lead his country further from the Western mainstream.
Police cars are parked outside the F. D. Roosevelt University Hospital, where Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was shot and injured, is treated in Banska Bystrica, central Slovakia, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is in life-threatening condition after being wounded in a shooting after a political event Wednesday afternoon, according to his Facebook profile.(AP Photo/Denes Erdos)
A police line is placed outside the entrance of the F. D. Roosevelt University Hospital, where Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was shot and injured, is treated in Banska Bystrica, central Slovakia, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is in life-threatening condition after being wounded in a shooting after a political event Wednesday afternoon, according to his Facebook profile.(AP Photo/Denes Erdos)
Slovakia's prime minister was attacked by an armed assailant and hospitalized Wednesday. (AP Graphic)
Rescue workers wheel Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was shot and injured, to a hospital in the town of Banska Bystrica, central Slovakia, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. (Jan Kroslak/TASR via AP)
Police arrest a man after Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot and injured following the cabinet's away-from-home session in the town of Handlova, Slovakia, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. Fico is in life-threatening condition after being wounded in a shooting Wednesday afternoon, according to his Facebook profile. (Radovan Stoklasa/TASR via AP)
Rescue workers wheel Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was shot and injured, to a hospital in the town of Banska Bystrica, central Slovakia, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico is in life-threatening condition after being wounded in a shooting Wednesday afternoon, according to his Facebook profile. (Jan Kroslak/TASR via AP)
Rescue workers take Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was shot and injured, to a hospital in the town of Banska Bystrica, central Slovakia, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico is in life-threatening condition after being wounded in a shooting Wednesday afternoon, according to his Facebook profile. (Jan Kroslak/TASR via AP)
FILE - Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico arrives to a round table meeting at an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024. Media reports say on Wednesday, May 15, 2024 that Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico was injured in a shooting and taken to hospital. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert, File)
Rescue workers wheel Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was shot and injured, to a hospital in the town of Banska Bystrica, central Slovakia, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. Slovakia's populist Prime Minister Robert Fico is in life-threatening condition after being wounded in a shooting Wednesday afternoon, according to his Facebook profile. (Jan Kroslak/TASR via AP)
Police arrest a man after Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot and injured following the cabinet's away-from-home session in the town of Handlova, Slovakia, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. Fico is in life-threatening condition after being wounded in a shooting Wednesday afternoon, according to his Facebook profile. (Radovan Stoklasa/TASR via AP)
