A 46-year-old Greek woman accused of involvement in the fatal arson attack on a Marfin bank branch on 5 May 2010 has been remanded in custody.

The woman, who had been granted a deadline last Friday to prepare her defence, was brought before the investigating magistrate on Tuesday morning. Beforehand, her lawyer, Kostas Papadakis, submitted a lengthy defence memorandum in which she denies the allegations against her, namely that she played a supporting role for the perpetrators. The defence argues that no evidence proves with certainty that she was near the Marfin branch at the time of the arson. She then answered the magistrate’s questions.

According to the reasoning behind the ruling, the judicial authorities decided to remand the 46-year-old in custody, considering her “particularly dangerous and committed to the group’s plan of action” that carried out the arson attack on the Marfin Bank branch, according to ERT, Greece’s state broadcaster.

Before her own testimony, her sister appeared as a witness, telling the court that during the demonstration she had been in the area with the defendant, but that the two had simply passed by the Marfin building and were not there at the time of the attack.

In her testimony, the woman maintained her innocence, saying she had taken part in the demonstration but had no connection to the violence, and that she had only met her co-defendants at the initial gathering point.

Her defence argued that the police investigation’s photo analysis does not amount to a positive identification, but only limited support for a resemblance. It also pointed out that the same material had been examined back in 2022, when it led to the case being shelved.

According to reports, the woman has appointed forensic expert G. Karathanasis as her technical consultant. His report reportedly concludes that analysis of the digital photographic material in the case file shows no difference from that examined in early 2022. At this stage, he has also put forward two further defence witnesses.

The woman was extradited to Greece a few days ago, after the completion of extradition proceedings in the United Kingdom. Papadakis has argued that there is no forensic finding certifying that the woman in the photographs is his client, adding that the report from the Directorate for Forensic Investigations does not conclude with absolute certainty that she was at the scene either.

The arrests in the Marfin case followed a fresh police investigation, launched 16 years after the tragedy. The case file includes evidence that was re-evaluated by the relevant Hellenic Police departments before being forwarded to the judiciary.

The woman was arrested at Gatwick Airport in London after Greek police activated an Interpol Red Notice against her. Appearing before Westminster Magistrates’ Court, she waived all legal remedies available to her under English law in order to prevent any challenge to the Interpol notice, accepted the Greek authorities’ extradition request, and signed a letter committing not to change her position.

Two 42-year-old men, accused as accomplices in the same case, have already been remanded in custody: one is being held at Malandrino Prison and the other at Nafplio Prison.

The arson attack on 5 May 2010 killed three Marfin bank employees at the branch on Stadiou Street in central Athens: Angeliki Papathanassopoulou, who was four months pregnant, Paraskevi Zoulia and Epameinondas Tsakalis.