A 2005 judicial case was dismissed by Justice Minister George Floridis, attacking the chairman of the Freedom Failure during yesterday’s speech to Parliament on the establishment of a pre -trial committee. The reason for the case with the so -called “rapist with cheese pie”, which Zoe Konstantopoulou managed as a defense lawyer.

“AWe did Mrs Constantopoulou tell us: What color does justice have, what taste, how does she smell? Let’s see it. Listen to some names. If Alan from Australia. M. site and two more. They had visited Greece. Unknown to each other. And they were raped by some Greek here. After they were previously nodded. This rapist (…) was defended by Mrs Zoe Konstantopoulou, torturing the female victims of the rapist who came from foreign countries and constantly saw the case take postponementThe Minister of Justice stressed from the step, provoking the intense applause of majority MPs.

Mrs Konstantopoulou, from the benches of Freedom Cruise, shouted: “You are lying“

But what is the case of the rapist who crushed his victims with cheese pie?

In March 2005, a 29 -year -old Australian tourist complained to the Greek authorities that he was a victim of sexual abuse in Athens by a man who pretended to be a guide. A few weeks later, there were three similar complaints by women who also visited Greece for vacation. The descriptions showed commonalities: approach from an unknown man near the Acropolis, food supply, drug, loss of control and, ultimately, sexual abuse.

The accused, Greek citizenship, was arrested and identified. According to the files, he had adopted the identity of the “Greek -speaking pilot” and approached tourists, offered to guide them to historical parts of Athens. He offered them cheese pie, in which – according to the complaints of the complaints – he had rubbed hypnotic drug. Then, and after the victims began to have symptoms of confusion or drowsiness, they led them to hotels where, as mentioned, he proceeded to acts without consensus.

Natalie Karnif’s deposit

The first complainant, Natalie Karnif of Canada, testified that the contact began with a friendly conversation near the archaeological site. The man appeared willing to accompany her to sights, and shortly thereafter left to buy food. When she came back, she offered half the cheese pie. After eating cheesecake, the woman felt her head heavy, while keeping a limited awareness of the events that followed. The next morning he woke up in a hotel room, without remembering exactly the night before.

Her complaint led to medical examinations, which confirmed the substance of the particular hypnotic in her body. As it turned out later, the same method had been applied to at least three more women.

Apology and defense line

The defendant initially admitted that he used the drug, citing personal psychological and family problems. Later, he revised his testimony, claiming that the actions were consensual.

His defense was assumed by lawyer Zoe Konstantopoulou, who was later elected a member with SYRIZA and served as Speaker of the House. Today is the president of the “Freedom Fire”. The case has taken new publicity in recent years, as the trials have not yet been completed.

Marathon

According to reports of the time, the case was pending for many years, with constant postponements.

From 2006 to 2013 at least eleven vacations or transfers of their own were recorded. Two were attributed to absences of witnesses, three to lawyers or strikes, while others are associated with procedural objections from the defendant’s defense.

The four alleged victims – three women from Australia and one from Canada – have been forced to travel to Greece for many years, covering at their own expense their transportation and accommodation, without being able to file a complete trial. At the same time, as it was reported, any postponement meant a new revival of traumatic experiences.

In an interview with Stavros Theodorakis, one of the women from Canada had stated: “The defendant’s lawyer claimed to be busy with another case in the province. A case that took over just last week. I told them I had come from Canada. They knew it anyway. I begged them to interrupt if necessary and the trial next week. Nothing“

The long delay in the case has sparked political reactions, even within the SYRIZA party. According to reports of the time, Sissy Vovos, then a member of the SYRIZA Central Political Committee and the Women’s Network and now Chairman of Women’s Rights “To Purple”, had expressed public reservations about Mrs Konstantopoulou’s defense tactics.

Finally, after years of delays, the defendant was sentenced to 12 years in prison for repeatedly rape. However, in 2015, it was released under Paraskevopoulos’ law, which provided for prison deconstruction and favorable arrangements for a large number of prisoners.

The release of the perpetrator has sparked political reactions, especially as there were criticism of the attitude of Zoe Konstantopoulou, who had been a defendant’s defense lawyer and, at that time, was Speaker of the House. Her statements in favor of the bill were confronted, with political opponents targeting her accusing her of “defending criminals”.