Greece court sentences former state officials over deadly 2020 floods in central Greece
ATHENS, Oct 17 (Reuters) -A Greek court on Thursday handed a 15-month suspended prison sentence to a former regional governor in central Greece and three other former officials over the handling of deadly floods in 2020.
Cyclone Ianos swept through central Greece in 2020, killing three people, flooding cities and highways in the region of Thessaly and turning agricultural land into mud lakes near the hardest-hit cities of Karditsa and Farsala.
The court on Thursday found former regional governor Costas Agorastos, a former deputy governor and two former directors of technical projects guilty of omissions that could have prevented the flooding. They have denied any wrongdoing.
Agorastos said outside the court that he could not have stopped a flood, which occurs once in 1,000 years and that he planned to appeal against the ruling.
The court acquitted all of the defendants of involuntary manslaughter charges related to the deaths. But lawyers representing the victims said they would take legal steps to overturn that decision.
"We were really disappointed with the ruling," Vassiliki Soufla, lawyer of one of the victims, told Reuters.
"The death of those people was not an accident, was not a bad moment. It was a result of the collective failure of the state mechanism," Soufla told reporters outside the court.
Greece is struggling to keep pace with a rapid increase in extreme weather.
Last year, Storm Daniel was the second major flood in three years to hit Thessaly, part of a pattern of worsening freak weather in Europe. The flooding - Greece's worst on record - killed 16 people and devastated the fertile region, sweeping away agricultural land, roads and railways.
A legal investigation has been launched into whether any crimes were committed by intention or negligence that worsened the impact of last year's flooding.
Reporting by Renee Maltezou; Editing by Sharon Singleton
Pinakabagong Balita
Disclaimer: Ang mga kabilang sa XM Group ay nagbibigay lang ng serbisyo sa pagpapatupad at pag-access sa aming Online Trading Facility, kung saan pinapahintulutan nito ang pagtingin at/o paggamit sa nilalaman na makikita sa website o sa pamamagitan nito, at walang layuning palitan o palawigin ito, at hindi din ito papalitan o papalawigin. Ang naturang pag-access at paggamit ay palaging alinsunod sa: (i) Mga Tuntunin at Kundisyon; (ii) Mga Babala sa Risk; at (iii) Kabuuang Disclaimer. Kaya naman ang naturang nilalaman ay ituturing na pangkalahatang impormasyon lamang. Mangyaring isaalang-alang na ang mga nilalaman ng aming Online Trading Facility ay hindi paglikom, o alok, para magsagawa ng anumang transaksyon sa mga pinansyal na market. Ang pag-trade sa alinmang pinansyal na market ay nagtataglay ng mataas na lebel ng risk sa iyong kapital.
Lahat ng materyales na nakalathala sa aming Online Trading Facility ay nakalaan para sa layuning edukasyonal/pang-impormasyon lamang at hindi naglalaman – at hindi dapat ituring bilang naglalaman – ng payo at rekomendasyon na pangpinansyal, tungkol sa buwis sa pag-i-invest, o pang-trade, o tala ng aming presyo sa pag-trade, o alok para sa, o paglikom ng, transaksyon sa alinmang pinansyal na instrument o hindi ginustong pinansyal na promosyon.
Sa anumang nilalaman na galing sa ikatlong partido, pati na ang mga nilalaman na inihanda ng XM, ang mga naturang opinyon, balita, pananaliksik, pag-analisa, presyo, ibang impormasyon o link sa ibang mga site na makikita sa website na ito ay ibibigay tulad ng nandoon, bilang pangkalahatang komentaryo sa market at hindi ito nagtataglay ng payo sa pag-i-invest. Kung ang alinmang nilalaman nito ay itinuring bilang pananaliksik sa pag-i-invest, kailangan mong isaalang-alang at tanggapin na hindi ito inilaan at inihanda alinsunod sa mga legal na pangangailangan na idinisenyo para maisulong ang pagsasarili ng pananaliksik sa pag-i-invest, at dahil dito ituturing ito na komunikasyon sa marketing sa ilalim ng mga kaugnay na batas at regulasyon. Mangyaring siguruhin na nabasa at naintindihan mo ang aming Notipikasyon sa Hindi Independyenteng Pananaliksik sa Pag-i-invest at Babala sa Risk na may kinalaman sa impormasyong nakalagay sa itaas, na maa-access dito.
