18-Year Sentence for Teacher Accused of Harassment; He Claims 'They Are Hunting Me Because I Exposed Scandals'

A Greek court has handed down a severe sentence of 18 years imprisonment without parole to a 45-year-old mathematics teacher, following three accusations of sexual harassment by former female students. This verdict, however, is far from accepted by the accused, who vehemently denies the charges, branding the entire process a fabrication and a deliberate attempt to silence him.

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I will take it to the end.

His defense centers on a dramatic claim: that he is being persecuted because he exposed significant financial scandals within the Municipality of Sitia. He alleges that the trial was "staged" and that he was even asked for a bribe of 25,000 euros to influence the judges. The teacher, who has initiated a hunger and thirst strike in protest, insists he will fight the verdict to the very end, asserting that crucial evidence from his confiscated computer has gone missing.

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I will not eat and I will not drink, until they realize that the whole court was rigged. Imagine, the day before the trial, they asked me for 25,000 euros to give in an envelope, to be distributed to the judges.

This case, as reported by Ta Nea, highlights a deeply troubling narrative of alleged corruption and a potentially compromised justice system. The teacher's claims of uncovering multi-million euro scandals and facing assassination attempts paint a picture of a man fighting against powerful forces. His colleagues have rallied around him, echoing his claims of a conspiracy, adding another layer of complexity to a trial that has already captured significant public attention in Greece. The stark contrast between the court's verdict and the accused's fervent claims of innocence and whistleblowing underscores the profound divisions and suspicions surrounding this case.

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There have been two assassination attempts. In the first, a contractor threatened me, saying I would be dead, and the next day my car was blown up. In the second, my father fell off a cliff with cut brakes.