On Tuesday, a Patras Misdemeanors Appeals Court handed down prison sentences amounting to 77 years, merged to 40 years, to four defendants standing trial for the disastrous forest fires of 2007 in Ileia, Peloponnese, Greece, in which 36 people were killed. They included former Ileia Prefect Haralambos Kafiras, former Zacharo Mayor Pantazis Chronopoulos, former Minthi forest ranger Panagiotis Tsouras and 84-year-old Sofia Nikolopoulou. The court found the four guilty of repeated counts of manslaughter through negligence, arson and setting fire to forests. The maximum prison sentence that can be served by each is 10 years, because the offenses are classed as misdemeanors. The court also ruled that the sentences can be converted to fines at a rate of five euros per day and accepted a request by the defense that the fines can be paid in installments of 1,200 euros a month. For Nikolopoulou, due to her advanced age, whose negligence was the cause of the disastrous fires, the court ruled that she should not pay fines but serve her sentence under house arrest. (source: ana-mpa)
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