Violanta: Factory Owner Tziortziiotis Released on Conditions – Trial for Five Dead Workers
Konstantinos Tziortziiotis, owner of the Violanta factory, was released on restrictive conditions on Tuesday. He faces charges related to an explosion that killed five workers.
Violanta Factory Owner Released Pending Trial for Five Deaths
Konstantinos Tziortziiotis, owner of the Violanta factory, was released on Tuesday afternoon (1/9) on restrictive conditions. His request for removal from provisional detention was accepted, according to Dikastiko.gr, and he will remain free until the trial is conducted.
Tziortziiotis had been placed in provisional detention on 18 February, following an interrogation lasting nearly five hours, and had been transferred to Trikala prison. He is accused of the fatal explosion at the factory that cost the lives of five workers.
The charges he faces
The Violanta factory owner is expected to stand trial facing three charges: explosion with possible intent, manslaughter by negligence in multiple instances, and causing bodily harm in multiple instances.
What the defendant claimed in his interrogation
During his interrogation, six months ago, Tziortziiotis stated that he was unaware of the smell that existed in the factory and learned of it "very late". He also mentioned that he had been informed that the smell came only from the toilets. He further claimed that he had asked an unqualified plumber to conduct an inspection, and nothing suspicious was reported to him.
The plumber's statement: "Put the pipe in and I am responsible"
A contrasting picture was presented in the testimony of the plumber who had been assigned to conduct the inspection. The technician described complete indifference to safety regulations on the part of the factory management.
According to his testimony, he was asked to connect a 5,000-litre propane tank to the building via a simple pipe in a trench. When he himself proposed reinforcing the conduit with concrete and creating an inspection pit, the factory owner allegedly responded: "I am the boss… put the pipe in and I am responsible".
The assessment of the judicial authorities
The judicial authorities, when holding Tziortziiotis in provisional detention in February, maintained that the factory owner should have known exactly what was happening inside his factory. The court subsequently accepted, however, the request for removal of detention, allowing him to remain free on restrictive conditions pending trial.
Source: Dikastiko.gr