Defendants in wildfire case to appear in Thebes

Before the examining magistrate of Thebes, the defendants in the wildfire that started on July 31, 2026 in Plataea and spread to Western Attica will appear on Thursday August 6. The court appearances were scheduled for Thursday following the deadline obtained on Tuesday August 4. The defendants include the mayor of Stylis — not in his municipal capacity, but as owner of the construction company that undertook the connection of a private wind farm to the DEDDIE network — and the technical responsible electrical engineer of the project. Both remained in custody at the Thebes Police Department until their court appearance. The owner and businessman of the wind farm also appeared before an examining magistrate, was released, and will also appear on Thursday.

The criminal charges brought cover four felonies and one misdemeanor. The most serious charge is arson in a forest with possible intent, from which danger to human life could have resulted. Following are damage to public utilities facilities and destruction of others’ property of particularly large value — the latter includes, among others, firefighting vehicles and patrol cars destroyed during the extinguishing effort. The legal distinction between negligence arson and arson with possible intent is critical for the case’s continuation, as the latter presupposes acceptance of the possibility of causing the fire and shifts the case to the field of felonies with severe sentences. All three individuals involved are fully covered by the presumption of innocence until final judgment by the courts, while the charges constitute claims by the prosecutor’s office that will be assessed in the course of the investigation.

As to causes, investigating authorities estimate that the fire was caused by sparks generated due to contact between two network conductors, but expert examinations have not been completed and no version has been formalized. According to media reports, the fire source is located under wooden poles with cables, the wind farm is proceeding toward sealing, and the network recorded continuous failures prior to the incident; all these are explicitly attributed to reporting and elements under investigation and do not constitute confirmed findings. The weight of the case is also determined by the human cost: during firefighting efforts two firefighters lost their lives in a collision of firefighting helicopters in Psatha.

The investigation is not limited to the specific project. As part of it, other projects of the same company are being examined to determine whether there were similar shortcomings in network connections. On the civil side, the Attica Region has already declared civil litigation, a move that allows it to monitor the investigation into a fire that swept tens of thousands of acres of Western Attica. As of 11:00 on Thursday August 6, no decision had been announced on the penal treatment of the defendants, that is, whether they will be released on restrictive conditions or held on remand. The decision is awaited from the examining magistrate and prosecutor after completion of the court appearances.