The Spartans are cleared of “deceiving the electorate”

The Court of Appeals acquitted the 13 defendants in the “Spartans” case, which involved the deception of the electorate, following the prosecutor’s recommendation. The defendants included Ilias Kasidiaris, 11 former and current lawmakers, and a lawyer.

The president of the court, explaining the reasoning behind the decision, stated that the deception of the electorate was not proven due to insufficient evidence.

The case was initially brought forward following allegations by the leader of the “Spartans,” V. Stigas, about “Greek Mafia” practices within the party, which he later retracted during the trial.

V. Stigas portrayed H. Kasidiaris as the true leader of the “Spartans,” which resulted in the criminal prosecution for “deceiving the electorate.”

During the trial, V. Stigas said: “That day, because of my anger, I used the well-known words about the Greek Mafia. When I testified to Mrs. Adeilini, I did not name any MP for illegal actions. I believe every MP is obligated to carry out their parliamentary duties. Afterward, we spoke and cleared up the misunderstandings.” He also emphasized: “It is not true that our MPs were taking instructions from Kasidiaris.”

The prosecutor, explaining the reasoning behind her proposal in the previous session, stated that the MPs of the “Spartans” “were not under his (i.e., Ilias Kasidiaris’) guidance, and there was no intention to overthrow the leadership.” She acknowledged that the party’s electoral success was largely due to Ilias Kasidiaris’ support, but emphasized that this did not automatically amount to misleading the electorate.