Former protected witnesses in Novartis case found guilty

An Athens tribunal connected Monday recovered Maria Marangeli and Filistor Destembasidis, two erstwhile protected witnesses successful the Novartis case, blameworthy of giving mendacious testimony and making mendacious accusations – against 5 and three individuals, respectively.

The Athens Single-Member Court of Misdemeanors ruled that Destembasidis should beryllium convicted for his statements against Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis, erstwhile wellness curate Andreas Loverdos, and Nikos Maniadakis, a erstwhile wellness ministry advisor, and confirmed that the charges of mendacious accusation indispensable stand.

Marangeli, the erstwhile caput of Novartis enforcement Konstantinos Frouzis, was recovered blameworthy of mendacious testimony regarding 5 individuals, including Georgiadis, Loverdos, Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras, erstwhile New Democracy MP Marios Salmas, and erstwhile premier curate Antonis Samaras.

She was acquitted, however, for her depositions concerning Georgiadis’ erstwhile caput Vassiliki Katrava, erstwhile EU migration commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos, Stournaras’ wife Stavroula Nikolopoulou, and Maniadakis.

The ruling differed from the prosecutor’s recommendation. Prosecutor Eirini Pelekanou had projected that the two erstwhile protected witnesses beryllium recovered blameworthy of perjury but acquitted connected charges of mendacious accusation, citing insufficient evidence.

Pelekanou said the defendants “believed they could accidental whatever they wanted due to the fact that they were under witness extortion and nary 1 could touch them.”

The defendants’ lawyers requested that mitigating circumstances beryllium considered successful sentencing.