The Felony Appeal Court has rejected all of the defense’s objections in the Akis Tsohatzopoulos trial. As expected, the court adopted the prosecution’s argument and debunked the objections one by one.
There were only a few reservations about Vicky Stamati, as her lawyer insists that the crime she is charged with took place in a foreign country (Switzerland) at a time it was not considered a crime.
Following this rejection, the defense requested that the members of the Government Council of National Defense (KYSEA) be summoned, despite the courts repeatedly reminding that the trial is not focused on the armament deals themselves, but rather the laundering of money and kickbacks that were paid for those deals.
Regardless, Mr. Tsohatzopoulos’ attorney Giannis Pagoropoulos insisted in the summoning of the KYSEA members and was particularly scathing about the implication of current PASOK president Evangelos Venizelos. Mr. Pagoropoulos specifically mentioned that “there are deals that have become state law with the signature of Mr. Venizelos”, in reference to the submarine purchase.
The Tsohatzopoulos side has requested that Evangelos Meimarakis and Giorgos Karatzaferis be summoned to “explain why the submarines have not be received” and former Minister of National Defense Spilios Spiliotopoulos on the TOR M1 purchase. The session will resume on Wednesday at 9am.
