He had a decisive reason for the management of the aerial firefighting means in Mati the former Deputy Minister of Citizen Protection Nikos Toskasaccording to the forensic expert Dimitris Liotsio who, testifying for the 14th day, cited conversations included in the case file on the July 23, 2018 fatal fire.

From these conversations, it appears, as Mr. Liotsios testified, that the permission of N. Toska was requested for the management of aerial means. It is mentioned in the conversations “I’ll tell you now. I will ask the minister”explained Mr. Liotsios, who wondered if “the minister has the authority to intervene at the operational level”.

His accused former commander ESKE Ioannis Fostieris, he said that since the physical and political leadership is present, he does not command, he cannot intervene.

Io. Fostieris: When physical and political leadership are present we refer to the superior.

Chairman: Does the political leadership have the right to interfere in the work of the fire department?

Io. Fostieris: He has the right. He is the commander.

Chairman: Does he know the rules of fire art and strategy to make a right choice?

Io. Fostieris: If, for example, he says that there will be two aircraft and there are none available, I have to mention that there is an aircraft available. If the leader agrees, I give the order to take off. It’s a chain reaction. This is all a closed circuit of the air force. I immediately gave my own conversations to the prosecutors. However, their own part, the Air Force, for security reasons, is not allowed to have any interference at all.