Μake us preferred on Google Greek police said three rape complaints involving foreign female tourists have been reported on the Ionian island of Zakynthos between May and Aug. 6, with two suspects arrested, responding to media reports that raised concerns over visitor safety on the popular holiday destination.
In a statement issued by the police’s Ionian Islands division, authorities said all three cases were handled immediately in accordance with stipulated law and in coordination with prosecutors, forensic experts and health professionals.
Police said the investigations remain ongoing and stressed that officers are committed to examining every complaint, protecting victims and informing the public “exclusively on the basis of official and verified information.”
The statement came after certain local media reports pointed to what they called a series of alleged sexual assaults involving foreign visitors on Zakynthos, prompting renewed scrutiny of public safety on one of Greece’s favorite summer tourism destinations.
The announcement follows a week in which Greek media, including To Vima, also drew attention to a broader pattern of incidents on the island, ranging from serious road crashes involving tourists riding ATVs to concerns over pressure on local health services during the peak holiday season.
Zakynthos has experienced several high-profile tourist-related incidents in recent months. In July, a British tourist was left critically injured after the quad bike he was riding collided with a tourist bus in the Laganas resort area, while another ATV crash days later left a driver injured. Earlier in the season, another British visitor suffered life-threatening head injuries in a separate quad bike accident, and in May two British tourists were hospitalized after being injured during a sightseeing boat excursion.
Greek authorities have repeatedly urged visitors to exercise caution when renting four-wheel ATVs, which local officials have identified as a recurring safety concern on the island.
Zakynthos has also attracted international attention in previous years over crimes involving foreign tourists.
Among the most widely reported cases was the 2017 killing of American college student Bakari Henderson during a bar fight in Laganas, an incident that received extensive international coverage and prompted renewed discussion about policing in the island’s nightlife district. The resort has also periodically been associated with serious assaults involving holidaymakers during the peak tourism season, although such cases remain isolated relative to the island’s millions of annual visitors.
