The trial of the ousted mayor of Kassandra Anastasia Chalkias and seven other persons, who were referred to be tried at the Single-Member Criminal Appeal Court of Thessaloniki, has been postponed until December 16, 2026, with the main charge being breach of duty regarding the operating conditions of the amusement park in Halkidiki, where an 18-year-old man lost his life last August.

OR postponement given after relevant request submitted by one of the defendants and a lawyer for another defendant, which caused the reaction of the father of the 18-year-old victimGiorgos Kampailis, who in the courtroom and addressing the court said: “After a year the murderers will be out […] all those who defend (the accused) should think that their own children are their home.”

Responding to the father, the presiding judge said: “We respect that defendants have rights under the law. We completely understand your pain. We also have children and we know the pain. We sympathize with you.”

Mr. Kampailis, a witness in support of the charge, in his statements later, emphasized, among other things: “No one can fight the death of my child, there is no way that anything will remain unexplained in regards to my son’s case”, while he requested the expansion of the indictment for other persons as well.

The lawyer of the accused mayor Antonis Koudroglou spoke of a “tragic event”, expressing the hope that, through the trial, the family of the 18-year-old will realize who is responsible and who is not for the child’s death.

The defendants and the case file

Except for her An. Chalkia they are in the same file two former vice mayors of Kassandra (the first of Financial and Legal Services and the second responsible for the Independent Department for the Control of Common Areas and Shop Licenses and for the display of fines), two employees of the same municipality (among them the then head of the Independent Common Areas Control Department and the then head of Technical Services), two mechanical engineers and the owner of the amusement park.

Depending on the case, they are prosecuted for the misdemeanor of breach of duty, once and continuously, of moral spoliation and of simple cooperation in the specific act. The case was brought to the specific audience, due to a special case against the mayor and a deputy mayor.

At the core of the case file is the fatal game crazy dance which, according to the technical expertise, which was carried out after the 18-year-old’s death, was self-made product without reference to a manufacturer and prior design approval.

Mayor Kassandra, who was disciplined with the penalty of disqualification (a decision against which she appealed to the SC), is accused of not imposing the shutdown of the business, given that no technical license had been issued for the specific game with regard to the 2024 summer season, while the license of the previous year (2023) was issued without a technical file by a recognized technical control body. Depending on the status of the remaining defendants, the case file assigns them responsibilities regarding the operation and controls of crazy dance.

It is recalled that for the same case, four people have been referred to trial – with the basic case file which concerns the felony of murder with possible intent, committed and attempted, jointly, or of simple cooperation in this act – four people: the owner of the amusement park (who is in custody), his wife (as co-manager of the business), the operator of the fatal game and a engineer-engineer (among those accused of breaching the duty of elected officials).

The specific trial has been determined to take place before the Mixed Jury Court of Giannitsa next month (20/11).