Two suspects arrested in relation with one of a handful of wildfires that erupted near the western port city of Patras last week on Tuesday were ordered remanded in custody.
The pair were jailed, following a decision by a relevant prosecutor and investigating magistrate, pending a further investigation and the possible filing of charges for a wildfire that erupted on Aug. 13 at the Girokomio site.
The first suspect, 25, was arrested last Wednesday near the scene of the blaze, while the other man, 21, was arrested yesterday, Monday, as he arrived at the Patras courthouse to provide testimony in defense of the first man. The younger man is apparently the driver of a motorbike on which the pair were seen in photographs taken from the scene near the wildfire.
In a joint statement issued afterwards, the defense attorneys for the two men again maintained that their clients have no whatsoever involvement in the outbreak of the devastating wildfires, and were at the site to aid fire-fighting efforts. They also said they will immediately appeal the temporary remand decision.
Meanwhile, in another part of Greece and in a separate case, a 57-year-old man on the eastern Aegean Island of Lesbos has reportedly confessed to starting three rural fires last Friday – which coincided with the major religious feast day of the Dormition of the Virgin – as well as the torching of a truck loaded with animal feed.
Authorities were reportedly led to the suspect by CCTV footage and other evidence.
Police said the man claimed he started two of the rural fires as “retribution” against fellow townspeople for renting out specific agricultural fields, the third because he was “confused”, and the fourth that destroyed the truck in order to “confuse authorities”.
Last month, another man on Lesbos (Lesvos), aged 35, confessed to starting a wildfire in a forested area at the Skalochorio site while other blazes were raging on the island. That fire destroyed some 16 hectares of land.
In a judicial “twist” at the time, he was not arrested with a warrant, but instead a trial date was set, while he was freed from police custody.
