Trial over bomb attack on Thessaloniki bank – 38-year-old courier killed
Trial has begun in the Appellate Court for Felonies over an explosion outside a bank in Thessaloniki, where a 38-year-old woman was killed on 3 May 2025.
Thessaloniki Appellate Court: defendants charged over fatal bomb at ATM
The Appellate Court for Felonies of Thessaloniki began hearing the case of the explosion that occurred on 3 May 2025 at the corner of Agiou Dimitriou and Platon streets, where a 38-year-old woman who was carrying the improvised explosive device was killed. According to Dikastiko.gr, the evidence-taking process began in the morning with examination of witnesses — police officers, vehicle and property owners who suffered damage, as well as relatives of persons involved.
Three defendants sit in the dock. The central figure in the case is a 42-year-old man who, according to the indictment, planned the entire ATM blasting operation from the prison where he is serving his sentence. "The target was the cash machines and I wanted to get the money. It is not my fault that M. was killed. She was paid to do it and did not go for free, nor was she forced at gunpoint," he stated in his defence.
The 42-year-old's involvement was revealed when he sent a letter to the Thessaloniki examining magistrate who was investigating the case, taking responsibility for the "hit" himself. He was not unknown to the authorities: he was already being charged, along with other persons, for a series of previous explosions, including the sending of a parcel bomb to a president of the Court of Appeal in Thessaloniki in February 2024.
The second defendant, a 37-year-old man, is alleged to have rented a "hideout" flat in the Ladádika district and to have transported the rucksack containing the explosives from Athens to Thessaloniki by train for 500 euros. "I left the rucksack in the rented flat, the deceased came and I left. I did not know what was inside it. I needed the money and I succumbed to the temptation," he testified. However, he was unable to provide an explanation to the prosecutor of the court as to how his fingerprints were found on the fuse of the device.
The third defendant, a 43-year-old man, denied any involvement. He became a suspect when his fingerprints were detected on the bag with which the 38-year-old was carrying the explosive device. He explained that the bag was used to transport food to the woman on the occasion of Easter, adding that he was sheltering her at his home because she was in a "deplorable state".
"We saw pieces on the ground and then a person"
A police officer who arrived from the first moments at the scene as a member of the Rapid Response Unit described to the court what he found: "Around 5.30 in the morning we received a call about an explosion and a possible fire at a bank ATM. We arrived very quickly. We saw smoke coming out and chaos prevailing. We saw pieces on the ground and then a person." He testified that the woman was alive when found but severely injured, whilst the ambulance service that arrived subsequently noted that her chances of survival were minimal.
The deceased's cousin spoke about the woman herself, testifying that the 38-year-old had confided in her that she would be doing a "job" because she needed money for surgery. "She was telling me 'do not be afraid, everything will go fine'. I felt something inside me," the cousin testified. She added that the 38-year-old used substances and had been living in Dendropoíamo since her release from prison, approximately a year earlier.
"He left the bomb in the wrong place"
During his defence, the 42-year-old admitted that he had known the 38-year-old for years and was aware of her substance dependence and financial need. He admitted that he gave her instructions from inside the prison for assembly of the explosive device, whilst maintaining that the plan did not foresee the device being placed at the location where it was ultimately found. "The plan was not for him to leave the device where he left it," he said, implying that the deceased acted outside the original plan. Regarding his 43-year-old co-defendant, he maintained that he has no connection to the case.
The court adjourned proceedings and the continuation was scheduled for the following day, with the prosecutor's submission.
Source: Dikastiko.gr