Suprem Court: There is no criminal act… Elder Efraim, Monk Arsenios and Maria Psalti innocent

Vindication for Elder Efraim, Father Arsenios and the judge Maria Psalti regarding the case of the shoreline properties at Lake Vistonida.

The Supreme Court has declared them innocent of the charge of delaying the publication of the verdict of the Court of First Instance in Rhodope, which, by majority, had found in favour of the public sector in the judicial dispute over the ownership of the shoreline properties atLakeVistonida.

In particular, the Criminal Department of the Supreme Court found that the decision of the Five-Member Court of Appeal in Thrace to hand down a six-month, suspended, prison sentence to judge Maria Psalti, the Abbot of the Monastery of Vatopaidi, Efraim, and the monk Arsenios, should be overturned.

The verdict of the Five-Member Court of Appeal inThracewas that Judge Psalti was guilty of dereliction of duty, and that Abbot Efraim and Monk Arsenios aided and abetted in the infringement.

The Criminal Department of the Supreme Court found that the guilty verdict lacked particular and detailed supporting evidence, contained ambiguities, was devoid of any legal basis and was mistaken in its interpretation of the law as applied. It therefore accepted that, since there was no criminal act involved, Judge Psalti should be acquitted of any charge of initiating a misdemeanour and that the persons convicted of aiding and abetting should be declared innocent, too.

The Supreme Court has also reached a verdict in the matter of leaking the confidential proceedings of the court, for which the judge, Abbot Efraim and Monk Arsenios had also been convicted, and has found that the conviction should be quashed.

At that time, Abbot Efraim and Monk Arsenios were convicted without grounds and with omissions in the evidence.

Today the Supreme Court has reviewed the case and found them innocent.