The Heavy Burden of Lykourezos: Facing Personal Mistakes and Family Sins at 91

One day, the daughters of Zoe Laskari find themselves in court, facing requests to have all their assets seized due to debts. The next, the Court of Appeals imposes a 30-month prison sentence on Alexandros Lykourezos for unpaid wages to former employees. These unpleasant developments are testing the mental resilience of the legendary criminal lawyer, who remains sharp and combative at 91.

The very courtrooms where he starred for over six decades now underscore the transition from a flourishing and successful career to a period of hardship. But that’s life—unpredictable, capable of tarnishing even the name of a living legend in criminal law. And just as unpredictable are family relationships, echoing the famous opening line of Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina: “All happy families are alike, but every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

Shared Expenses of the Villa

Just five days ago, a case was heard regarding an injunction filed by the management company responsible for the shared expenses of a villa in Porto Rafti, inherited by Martha Koutoumanou and Aithra (formerly Maria-Eleni) Lykourezou from their late mother, actress Zoe Laskari. The company claims it hasn’t received any payments since 2017 and is requesting the seizure of all movable and immovable assets of the two half-sisters.

This is an unusual claim for an outstanding debt of only a few tens of thousands of euros, especially considering that the villa, built by pioneering architect Konstantinos Doxiadis, is worth nearly 3 million euros and boasts a breathtaking sea view in an upscale residential complex.

Martha Koutoumanou, who is struggling financially, currently resides in the villa. All her assets and bank accounts, including her widow’s pension from her late husband Vlassis Bonatsos, have already been frozen.

Family disputes escalated when Aithra sued Martha over rent payments for an apartment in Glyfada. She argued that the 500-square-meter villa could generate rental income, yet debts continued to pile up, creditors intensified their pressure, and the risk of foreclosure became increasingly real.

Their inability to communicate prevented a joint decision to sell the property. Meanwhile, Martha attempted to auction off nine valuable pieces of jewelry inherited from her mother, hoping to use the proceeds to cover her debts. However, a private creditor contested the sale, claiming outstanding debts, effectively blocking the auction.

These bitter conflicts have fueled legal battles, restraining orders, and public feuds, creating a media frenzy. For Alexandros Lykourezos, a keen analyst of human nature who spent his life navigating the legal system, the discord between his stepdaughters is a source of deep frustration.

Despite having renounced his late wife’s inheritance, he made every effort to mediate a settlement between the two now middle-aged women who grew up in the same home. His attempts, however, were futile in the face of their stubborn intransigence, deepening the wounds left by his wife’s passing.

Life with Zoe

It has been seven and a half years since the shocking loss he suffered in August 2017. On the 15th of that month, the couple received Holy Communion together at church. On the morning of Friday, August 18, Lykourezos left their Porto Rafti home for his law office in Kolonaki, while Zoe was still asleep. When he returned hours later, he found her lifeless in the same position. She was gone. Their 41 years of mostly happy married life had come to an abrupt and irreversible end.

Unable to bear the silence of the seaside home they had shared, he moved to his family home in Kolonaki, where he surrounded himself with memories of their energetic life together.

For their 30th wedding anniversary, he publicly apologized to Zoe, saying, “I’ve committed misdemeanors, even felonies. I ask for your forgiveness and thank you for your persistence and patience in staying by my side.”

She had always been his unwavering support throughout their marriage. They wed on June 21, 1976, in an intimate ceremony at the Holy Sepulchre Metochion in Plaka. The officiant was Father Georgios Pyrounakis, known for his extensive social and cultural contributions and his defense of political prisoners during the Greek junta. Their best man was journalist and lyricist Lefteris Papadopoulos.

Zoe arrived at the chapel in the Anafiotika neighborhood accompanied by her close friend, actor Christos Nomikos. Her real surname was Kouroukli, and she held the hand of her eight-year-old daughter, Martha, from her first marriage to businessman Petros Koutoumanos. The little girl moved in with the newlyweds, and two years later, Zoe gave birth to their daughter, Maria-Eleni Lykourezou, completing their family.

For Lykourezos, Maria-Eleni was his third child, following Iason and Marina from his first marriage in 1966 to the strikingly beautiful Brazilian-American photographer and former model Alicia Coriolano. The two older children, who grew up in London and Paris during his self-imposed exile after the 1967 military coup, have always maintained a low public profile while standing by their father through all of life’s challenges.

Martha and Bonatsos

Martha and Maria-Eleni grew up in an open and vibrant household, frequently visited by artists, intellectuals, and politicians. They attended prestigious private schools and were raised in the world of theater, constantly surrounded by stage lights, rehearsals, and performances. However, they developed very different personalities.

Martha was the first to marry, wedding singer and actor Vlassis Bonatsos in 1996 after a whirlwind romance. Despite their 19-year age gap—she was 27, he was 46—he proposed sincerely and respectfully. Their wedding took place at the chapel of Saint George in Kavouri, with a well-known figure as their best man.

A year later, they welcomed their daughter, Zenia. Zoe was deeply moved to hear her granddaughter call her “grandma,” while Lykourezos beamed with joy at being called “grandpa.”

During these years, Zoe was at the height of her career, starring in acclaimed productions of plays by Sam Shepard, Edward Albee, and Eugene O’Neill while also excelling in ancient Greek drama. Meanwhile, Lykourezos was solidifying his reputation as one of Greece’s most distinguished criminal lawyers, handling some of the most high-profile cases of the era.

A legal star with an impressive intellectual stature, he thrived in the courtroom. Passionate about literature, theater, and cinema, a connoisseur of Byzantine ecclesiastical music, and a figure of both political and cultural life, he fully embraced the title of “celebrity lawyer.” Never denying the label, he even admitted that he sometimes walked a fine line between brilliance and excess, risking the very integrity he built over decades.

Now, at 91, he faces a new reality: a battle not for high-profile clients but for personal redemption amid the burdens of family strife and past mistakes.