The Anubis Coldcase K9 research team has been ordered to leave its facilities in Penteli, north of Athens, by September 7, according to the group.
The municipality of Penteli, which has use of the property under an agreement with Holy Monastery of Penteli, sent the team a formal legal notice demanding that it vacate the premises by Monday, September 7.
The municipality cited the terms of its agreement with the monastery, under which the property is intended exclusively for the municipality’s own needs and activities.
What the agreement says
According to the legal notice, Holy Monastery of Penteli granted the property to the municipality for use in activities serving its own needs, including social and cultural programs and initiatives falling within the responsibilities of local government related to sustainable development, public safety and residents’ quality of life.
The agreement also reportedly expressly prohibits the municipality from granting any part or all of the property to a third party, whether an individual or legal entity, with or without payment.
Based on that provision, the municipality is required to remove any third parties occupying the property, regardless of when or how they moved in, unless they are public services.
Anubis Coldcase K9’s work
The Anubis Coldcase K9 team specializes in training and caring for Belgian Malinois dogs, which can be used in search, rescue and detection operations because of their specialized abilities.
The team’s dogs have taken part in dozens of missions, assisting with searches for missing people and operations requiring specialized training.
Role in the Tempi investigation
One of the team’s most significant missions was its participation in searches at the site of the deadly train crash in Tempi, central Greece.
Anubis dogs located bones and other remains at the crash site. The findings were used by relatives of victims as part of complaints stating that the crash site may have been altered.
The team’s officials were also appointed as court-appointed expert witnesses by the appeals court investigator overseeing the judicial investigation into the disaster.
Eviction deadline
Under the legal notice, the Penteli municipality has asked Anubis Coldcase K9 to vacate the facilities no later than Monday, September 7, citing the terms of its agreement with Penteli Monastery.
