The trial over the fatal bomb explosion outside a bank branch in central Thessaloniki opened Thursday before a three-member appelate-level court. The blast, which occurred on May 3, 2025, killed a 38-year-old woman who was allegedly attempting to plant an improvised explosive device.
The case centers on an alleged plan to blow up the bank’s ATMs to retrieve the cash.
Earlier police investigations established that the woman was believed to have been carrying the device when it detonated prematurely. Authorities also examined possible links to individuals associated with previous bomb attacks and an attempted bombing targeting a senior judicial official.
The three defendants include a 42-year-old inmate whom prosecutors accuse of devising and directing the operation while in prison. In his testimony, he acknowledged that the objective was to obtain money from the ATMs and said he had given the woman instructions on assembling the device. He denied responsibility for her death, arguing that she had been paid to carry out the attack and that she had placed the bomb in the wrong location.
A second defendant, a 37-year-old man, is accused of renting an apartment in Thessaloniki’s Ladadika district that allegedly served as a safe house and transporting a backpack containing materials used to make the bomb from Athens to Thessaloniki. He told the court that he was paid 500 euros to transport the bag by train and claimed he did not know what it contained. Prosecutors, however, questioned him about forensic evidence reportedly linking him to the fuse used in the device.
The third defendant, a 43-year-old man, has denied involvement.
His fingerprint was reportedly found on the bag used by the 38-year-old woman. He told the court that he had previously used the bag to bring food to the woman around Easter and said he had allowed her to stay at his home because she was in very poor condition.
