Distraught relatives who lost family members in the wildfires 10 days ago lodged the lawsuit with the public prosecutor’s office amid mounting criticism over the response to the catastrophe.
Propelled by gale-force winds the inferno left more than 91 people dead, mostly in the seaside village of Mati, east of Athens.
“All those responsible for the prevention of fires, the extinguishing of fires and people’s’ safety should be convicted and are named in the claim,” the plaintiffs’ lawyer, Antonis Foussas, said. “They include the head of the civil protection agency, the governor of Attica, the mayor of Marathon and the police and fire service.”
The action, filed by the family of two victims, is expected to elicit a wave of similar complaints in the coming weeks. Citing the “huge criminal responsibilities of the competent government bodies and officials responsible for handling and dealing with such serious crisis”, the lawsuit highlighted the lack of evacuation orders that ultimately led to so many people being engulfed by flames.
“In the disastrous fires of 2007 the competent authorities were found guilty of similar charges,” said Foussas. “They received jail sentences of 70 years in total, which, under Greek law, they were able to pay off. Our hope is the same will happen again.”
