Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on June 3, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
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A Greek court convicted 10 people for the 2018 wildfire near Athens that killed 104. The ruling includes former officials and arson charges.
ATHENS (Reuters) -A Greek appeals court found 10 people guilty on Tuesday of misdemeanour charges over a wildfire in 2018 that killed 104 people, a ruling that angered relatives of those who died in the country's worst such disaster in living memory.
The court upheld a lower court verdict from last year but ordered the conviction of an additional four people on misdemeanour charges, including involuntary manslaughter, bringing the total to 10, among them former fire brigade officials and a man accused of arson, legal sources said.
Eleven people, including regional governors, were cleared.
The sentences will be announced on Wednesday. The penalty for a misdemeanour may be a suspended prison sentence or a jail term with the alternative of a fine.
The blaze that ripped through the seaside town of Mati, about 27 km (17 miles) east of the capital Athens, in July 2018 killed 104 people and injured dozens. Most of those killed were caught in a maze of thickly-forested streets as they tried to flee in their cars.
"Such a horrible disaster so badly handled and it's being treated as a misdemeanour. That's far too lenient. It's sad," said Alexandros Papasteriopoulos, a lawyer representing relatives of the dead.
Survivors and relatives released black balloons and held white roses during the trial to honour those killed. They shouted "shame" when the verdict was announced.
The disaster cast a pall over the then-leftist Syriza government, with survivors accusing authorities of botching rescue attempts. Authorities dismissed the accusations, saying that erratic winds fuelling the flames meant there was no time for coordinated action.
Devastating wildfires have become more frequent in Mediterranean countries. Scientists attribute their frequency and intensity to the increasingly hot and dry weather conditions linked to climate change.
(Reporting by Renee MaltezouEditing by Frances Kerry)
The Greek appeals court found 10 people guilty of misdemeanour charges related to the 2018 wildfire that killed 104 people.
The convictions included misdemeanour charges, such as involuntary manslaughter, with a total of 10 individuals found guilty.
Survivors and relatives of the victims expressed anger, releasing black balloons and holding white roses, while shouting 'shame' at the announcement of the verdict.
The disaster negatively affected the then-leftist Syriza government, with accusations of botched rescue attempts from survivors.
Scientists attribute the rise in frequency and intensity of wildfires to increasingly hot and dry weather conditions linked to climate change.
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