Kostas Passaris remains in prison after conditional release request is denied

Kostas Passaris will continue to serve his sentence in a Romanian prison, as the Dolj court has definitively rejected his latest request for conditional release. This decision follows a similar rejection by the Craiova court in June 2026, according to Romanian media reports.

Passaris has been incarcerated for over 24 years, having been convicted of murder. Although he has completed the required 20 years of detention for his conditional release to be considered, the court determined that he does not meet the other necessary criteria. These criteria include his behavior during imprisonment, signs of rehabilitation, and his prior criminal record.

Based on these factors, the court concluded that the conditions for his release from the Craiova prison are not met. Passaris was convicted in Romania in July 2003 for the murders of two currency exchange workers in Bucharest. In Greece, he received a sentence of four life terms for as many homicides, plus an additional 49 years for attempted murders and robberies.