The suspects arrested in connection with the fatal arson attack on the Thessaloniki home of Aphrodite Nestora, a lawyer and New Democracy parliamentary candidate who’s Nestora’s mother, Vagia Nestora, died as a result of the attack, are at the Thessaloniki Courthouse ready to appear before the investigating judge.
The three suspects, among whom are the alleged bomb-planting pair and their host, face homicide and terrorism charges after the fatal blast. With a heavy police presence, anti-authoritarian supporters are rallying outside to show their support.
Specifically, the prosecutor of the Misdemeanour Court of Thessaloniki has filed charges against the three, comprising five felony counts: forming and participating in a terrorist organisation, homicide with possible intent (both completed and attempted), causing an explosion, arson, and violation of weapons legislation through the possession of explosive materials.
The same charges have been brought against all three defendants. The specific allocation of individual responsibility is expected to be determined during the preliminary investigation, since the prosecution as filed is in rem, meaning it is not yet attributed to particular individuals.
Two of the suspects, both men aged 29 and 24, were arrested in Thessaloniki, while the third, a 26-year-old woman, was arrested in Crete. All three reportedly have prior criminal records; the woman had previously been arrested in 2022 as a member of an anarchist group linked to a series of arson attacks carried out between 2016 and 2022, receiving an 18-month suspended sentence.
According to the investigation by Greece’s Antiterrorist Service, the 29-year-old man and the 26-year-old woman were identified through preliminary investigative and video material as the direct perpetrators of the fatal arson attack.
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