Former Minister of National Defense Akis Tsohatzopoulos announced that he will not be attending future trial sessions “until [the court] addresses serious matters”. Mr. Tsohatzopoulos explained that his intention is to protest, not ignore, the procedure.

This development, which was hinted at the previous trial session, came after the Felony Appeal Court handling the case rejected once again the defense’s request to summon former members of the Government Council on National Defense (KYSEA) to testify. The Court President Christos Katsianis explained that their summon is not necessary at this phase of the trial.

The court session was suspended at the request of the defense, in order to convene with the main defendant, Mr. Tsohatzopoulos and decide the defense’s stance following the rejection. The former Minister’s attorney Leonidas Kotsalis explained that “we have the case’s ‘black box’ and we are sifting through the remains”.

The court also rejected the objection of Giannis Iriotis, Giorgos Sachpatzidis’ attorney, that new documents submitted to the court by the prosecutor which are not in the case file must not be accepted. Mr. Iriotis had complained about some of the documents being dated from 2010, insinuating that there are ulterior motives at play.