Eye doctor acquitted in Arta over "envelope" bribe allegations — unanimous court decision
The three-member Misdemeanours Court of Arta unanimously acquitted the ophthalmologist at the General Hospital who was arrested in October on charges of passive bribery.
Hospital doctor acquitted in Arta trial over "envelope" bribe
The three-member Misdemeanours Court of Arta issued a unanimous acquittal decision on 30 October 2026 for the ophthalmologist-surgeon at Arta General Hospital, following a hearing lasting five hours. The prosecutor at the bench aligned herself with the acquittal proposal. According to Dikastiko.gr, the case had begun with the arrest of the doctor on 15 October 2026, charged with passive bribery.
According to the indictment, the doctor was alleged to have demanded money before performing surgical intervention on a patient. The complainant, however, failed to persuade the court. In an announcement from the law office of Alexios Ch. Kougias, it is stated that "the complainant fell into a multitude of contradictions regarding the time and description of the alleged factual circumstances and did not persuade the Court of his claims."
The complainant's assertions were contradicted by multiple sources of evidence. Nurses from the clinic testified against his version. The surgical records from the same day, as well as the medical file of the complainant's grandmother who was the patient, confirmed the inconsistency of his claims. The patient in question was ultimately not operated on, due to the doctor's arrest.
Defence counsel were Athens-based lawyers Aristoteles Charalampakis, founder of the namesake Law Firm, and Konstantinos Synodinos from the law office of Associates of Alexios Ch. Kougias.
In its announcement, the Kougias office emphasises that the decision recalls the necessity of respecting the presumption of innocence. It is stressed that no one should interpret a complaint as an established fact before a court ruling is issued, nor should they accept it through public statements that prejudge the outcome.
Source: Dikastiko.gr