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First entry: Monday, October 19, 2020, 11:00
Feature: Vassilis Tzimtsos
Due to … “minimal doubts” they had about his guilt, the judges of the Piraeus Five Members Criminal Court of Appeal acquitted the executive for several years and associate of the company Capital of Vangelis Marinakis, the luxury car dealer Emilio Kotsoni, 1 ton of heroin with the ship “Noor 1” in June 2014 in Elefsina.
The five-member Piraeus Criminal Court of Appeals acquitted him “with minimal doubts”, as the president of the court, Maria Koufoudi, has characteristically said, despite the fact that the Court’s Prosecutor, Vasiliki Vlachou, and the Court’s Prosecutor of Appeals, Maria Troupi, had requested heroin with minesweeper.
According to legal circles, this phrase is used by judges when they have reasonable suspicions of his guilt but the slightest doubt works in favor of the accused and acquits him.
On the contrary, the former owner of the “Noor 1” Panagiotis Faros was acquitted unanimously without any doubt by the five Courts of Appeal and with the consent of the Prosecutor of the Court.
Vassilios Kourouvanis was acquitted by a majority, who would charter the ship to transport oil from Libya to the Patras River.
Appellant Nikolaos Koutroubas opined that he should be found guilty of complicity in drug trafficking.
It is recalled that the court of first instance sentenced Emilios Kotsonis to 10 years in prison and V. Kourouvanis and P. Faro to 8 years in prison.
The other defendants were found guilty, as in the court of first instance: the shipowner Efthymios Giannousakis, the charterer of the ship Georgios Bourdouvalis, the four Turks who participated in the transport of drugs to a warehouse in Koropi, the Iranian escort in Filothei, Konstantinos Kartsonis, owner of the warehouse in Koropi where the heroin was transported, and Stavros Lagios, a partner of Giannousakis who helped transport the shipment of the “white death” from the ship to the villa of his ex-wife Giannoushakis in store in the area where part of the cargo was received by the Turkish co-defendants.
The defendants were unanimously found guilty by the court.
Only appellant N. Kavalaris opined that St. should be found guilty. Lagios, without the aggravating provisions of the law.
The main defendants Efthymios Giannousakis and Georgios Bourdouvalis, who had first been sentenced to life imprisonment, were unanimously found guilty.
Giannousakis was found guilty of belonging to a criminal organization, illegal trafficking, transit and transportation of drugs. Specifically for the transport of 1,113 kilos of heroin to and from his ex-wife’s villa in Filothei, but also part of the cargo in a warehouse in Koropi, as well as for possession of the entire amount of 2.1 tons of drug to professional level.
Bourdouvalis was found guilty of forming and joining a criminal organization, trafficking and possessing 2.1 tons of heroin.
The court did not accept the proposal of the prosecutor of guilt of Kotsoni-Kourouvani
It is recalled that in his speech, the prosecutor of the Court, Vasiliki Vlachou, had proposed the guilt of Emilios Kotsonis and Vassilios Kourouvanis as perpetrators in the transit of 2.1 tons of heroin with “Noor 1”.
In her speech, the Appellate Prosecutor had emphasized regarding the defendant Giannousaki-Bourdouvali-Kotsoni-Kourouvani:
“They acted with full conscience and within the framework of an organized plan in order to obtain financial benefit for them. Thanks to their knowledge, they were able to organize all actions for the transport of heroin in Greece.
… The purpose of the organization was the transit of drugs through Greece to Europe, which would be made available to third parties for profit.
Kotsonis and Kourouvanis played a dominant role in the transit, who together with Giannousakis and Bourdouvalis wrote and organized the plan together. Bourdouvalis’s letter and Kourouvanis’s subcontracting to start Atsman’s trip to Elefsina were legal. “Together they created a cover for the legality of the transport of 2.1 tons of heroin to Europe.”
It should be noted that the conviction of Kotsoni and Kourouvani for acts more serious than simple complicity, for which they had been convicted by the court of first instance, was requested by the prosecutor of the Court of First Instance, Maria Troupi, who had appealed.
However, the court held a different opinion in relation to the appellant prosecutors V. Vlachos and M. Troupis, when they found Kotsonis and Kourouvanis innocent.
The defense lawyers of the former owner of “Noor 1” Panagiotis Farou, who was unanimously acquitted with the consent of the Headquarters Prosecutors, Grigoris Tsolias and Panagiotis Vasilakopoulos, made the following statement:
With today’s unanimous acquittal, at the proposal of a conciliatory prosecutor, logic was restored and the truth about Mr. Faro, former owner of “Noor 1”, who suffered for several years and was personally and professionally injured without having the the slightest participation ”.
The trial continues with speeches by the defendants’ defense attorneys on providing relief to their clients.
Peaks in speeches: lawyers for the accused invoke the acquitted
The lawyer of G. Bourdouvalis (SS who had been sentenced to life imprisonment without protection in the court of first instance), Haris Sypsas requested the attenuation of the legal life and the subsequent good behavior of his client.
As he said, throughout his working life he worked as a sailor in the Vardinoyannis group shipping company and then in another company in Dubai. He had a white criminal record, while he went to the investigator alone without a lawyer to get a deadline and came back. “The average wise man came here. If we were talking about the activity of a legal person, he would be in an unknown direction. He did not. He went to the investigator and without a lawyer he got a deadline.
“It is not the average daily life of a drug dealer,” said his lawyer.
He even referred to Bourdouvalis’ co-defendant, Kotsonis. Kourouvani and Faro, who were previously acquitted by the court.
“What did all those acquitted today tell you during the trial of first instance?” that he was a useful person for everyone in a very good position, he helped all Greek speakers ”, he pointed out.
In another part of his speech, he referred to the Golden Dawn case, which is currently ongoing. “There was no pressure on you. It was there,” Mr. Sypsas said significantly.
For their part, the defense lawyers of Efthymios Giannousakis, who was also sentenced to life imprisonment by the court of first instance, requested for their client the mitigating circumstances of the previous legal life (as they affirmed that he only had market violations), good behavior after the operation (handed over to the port authorities when he was informed that drugs were found in his ex-wife’s house and he has no crime in prison), the sincere repentance and the attenuation of article 27 that helped with his buyers and recipients statements of 2.1 tons of heroin Zidasti and Rigabadi.
Commenting on the matter, his attorney Giannis Glykas stated:
“He fully accepts Giannousakis’ accusations about those acquitted and the justice system must recognize that he has helped in the case.”
Bourdouvalis Outbreak – “They’re Corrupt”
During the interventions of the defense lawyers of the accused due to the mitigating circumstances, the accused Giorgos Bourdouvalis, who had been sentenced in the first instance to life imprisonment and is once again in danger of a heavy sentence, left the room and shouted:
“I’ve been a captain for 37 years and should they call me a drug dealer? They’re corrupt.”
In fact, during the long speech of the defense attorney for Efthymios Giannousakis, co-defendant, Giannis Glykas, he interrupted him and addressing the president of the court, G. Bourdouvalis, said: “I am leaving, Madam President. He speaks and our life is judged by us. “
After the speeches of the defense lawyers of the accused, the trial was postponed until the day after tomorrow, Wednesday October 21.
The Headquarters Prosecutor, Vasiliki Vlachou, requested a period of two days to discuss mitigating factors.
As he said, there are many attenuations requested by the nine defendants and he must examine them based on the provisions of the new Penal Code.
