Members of the Solidarity Committee for the now 15-year-old girl from Kolonos gathered early Friday morning, January 23, at the Athens Court of Appeal. In the courtroom, the trafficking story of the young girl was set to be relived, which initially resulted in a life sentence for Ilias Michos, imprisonment without suspension for another convicted person, and suspended prison sentences with restrictive conditions for 17 others. In this trial, which was postponed until November 16, 2026, the accused is the mother of the then 12-year-old girl, who had already served her sentence on March 29, 2024, when the judge imposed 20 months imprisonment for the misdemeanor charge she faced. However, her joy, as well as that of the Solidarity Committee members who supported her, lasted less than two weeks.
Read: Kolonos trafficking case: Solidarity rally outside Court of Appeal for 12-year-old’s vindication
The woman was released four days after her acquittal, on April 2, 2024, however the prosecutor, who had recommended that she not be given mitigating circumstances, appealed against the court’s decision, as did the convicted persons, including Ilias Michos. Exactly one week later, on April 9, 2024, the prosecutor’s appeal bound the case, which is being retried from Friday, January 23, 2026 at the Court of Appeal. Anna Bardani, a member of the Solidarity Committee, spoke about the case of the 15-year-old’s mother from Kolonos, emphasizing that everyone stands openly in favor of the mother – and that the vindication of the teenager, now, will be to have her with her.
Kolonos trafficking case: “Child’s vindication means mother’s acquittal”
Specifically, Anna Bardani said: “I am a member of the solidarity committee for the 12-year-old. Two years ago, we were here celebrating the news of the mother’s acquittal and the conviction of Michos and the other rapists by the jury. Two years later, we are here again. And the mother is once again accused and we face the same thing again, at the Court of Appeal”.
She then emphasized: “We have no illusions, it is much easier for them to support a Greek, patriot, good Christian, businessman… and it is much easier for them to convict a woman, a mother, a poor woman with 8 children. And this is what we face and that’s why we are here. We must remember that vindication of the child means acquittal of the mother”.
She then commented that “vindication of the child means having her mother with her as she requests, as all her siblings request. And we are here to win this again. We know very well that the previous victory was won through the movement, through struggles, through informing society itself. The bourgeois justice system may be what it is, the channels may have broadcast the worst expressions about the little girl and her family, but the people and society showed another face. The solidarity community supported, helped and ultimately we had the result we had two years ago. And the result we have is that there are solidarity people always beside the family. And we will win it again”.
