Athens, Greece — An Athens court on Monday convicted five former top firefighting and disaster response officials for a 2018 wildfire on the outskirts of the capital that killed more than 100 people.
The fire that devastated the coastal town of Mati, east of Athens, was the deadliest in the country’s history. Residents and tourists, many of them trapped in their cars, died as they tried to escape.
The officials, including a former fire chief, received sentences ranging from 15 to 111 years for multiple counts of criminal negligence resulting in injury and loss of life. But the presiding judge ordered that the sentences could be served simultaneously, limiting the prison sentence to five years.
The five convicted officials were released and allowed to pay fines instead of serving their sentences, estimated at up to 40,000 euros ($43,000) each.
A sixth defendant, the owner of the property where the fire started, received a three-year sentence for negligence and was also released. Fifteen other fire, police, civil protection and local government officials were acquitted of all charges.
Irini Maroupa, one of the lawyers who represented the victims in the 18-month trial, told reporters outside the court that her clients were bitterly disappointed.
“All feeling of shame has been lost,” he said. “The victims of this fire who died in horrible circumstances and the injured who will suffer for the rest of their lives – and this was clearly illustrated in court – will never have the chance to find peace in their souls.”