The relatives of HELIOS are awaiting a verdict

The accused are Andreas Drakos, Executive Chairman of HELIOS, Dimitris Pantazis, CEO of the company, George Kikkidis, Director of Aviation Operations, Yanko Stoymenov, Chief Pilot of the company and in addition the acting engineer of the company on the day of the company.

"What we expect after seven years is the condemnation of those who, in fact, did not do their job well," said Mr. Giasoumis. He points out that there are still concerns regarding the acquittal of the Court in Cyprus, while he speculates that a possible conviction by the Athens Criminal Court may strengthen the feeling of frustration of the relatives of the victims regarding the decision of the Cypriot Court.

Regarding the possibility that the decision of the Cypriot Court will be influenced by any decision of the Athens Criminal Court, Mr. Giasoumis states that he does not know whether this is possible.

In addition, in relation to the absence of witnesses from the hearing, he clarified that all key witnesses were present, while only those whose presence was purely formal were not present due to family or professional disabilities.

According to Mr. Giasoumis, after the development in the Cypriot Court, the frustration of the relatives was absolute and this is proven - as he points out - by the spontaneous nature of the protests that took place immediately after.

The decision of the Cypriot Court was based on the claim that due to the shortcomings in the company HELIOS, and the insufficient role of the Civil Aviation, the accident would inevitably happen at some point. Mr. Giasoumis, however, states that "the responsibility that belongs to the Cyprus Civil Aviation exists, but apart from the relatives, there are many who claim that the accident would not have happened anyway."

It is necessary, he emphasizes, for there to be a conviction that verifies the obvious. That is, some did not do their job properly, even if the facts are now complete.

The charge against the five is negligent homicide which carries a sentence of up to five years in prison in the event of a conviction.

Source: KATHIMERINI