The Thessaloniki Court of Appeals Prosecutor’s Office filed an appeal on Tuesday afternoon (14/4) against the decision that sentenced two men to 4 and 3 years in prison, respectively, for the revenge porn case involving victim Ioanna Touni. The prosecution’s appeal concerns both the severity of the sentences, arguing they should have been harsher, and the recognition of mitigating circumstances for the defendant who received the lighter sentence. A related petition had previously been filed by the famous influencer’s legal team, which was ultimately accepted by the competent prosecutorial authority. Both convicted defendants had also appealed the court’s decision to be tried at the second level.
Ioanna Touni: The appellate court will start from “zero basis”
Under these circumstances, when the case is reexamined by the appellate court, it will start from a “zero basis” and practically “the principle of non-deterioration” of the defendants’ position will not apply. It should be noted that the Three-Member Court of Appeals for Felonies in Thessaloniki on April 1st had found the two defendants guilty of leaking and publishing sexually explicit video content without the consent of complainant Ioanna Touni. By majority decision, the court ruled that the alleged act constituted a felony (the dissenting member believed the act was committed in its misdemeanor form).
The defendant who met with the victim was sentenced to 4 years in prison without recognition of mitigating circumstances, and his sentence was neither suspended nor converted, but its execution was given suspensive effect pending the appeal. His co-defendant, who according to the case file videotaped the intimate act, was sentenced to 3 years in prison with recognition of the mitigating circumstance of prior lawful conduct, and his sentence was suspended for three years.
The multi-day evidentiary procedure was conducted behind closed doors. The position of both defendants was that they neither “filmed” the disputed video (which was reviewed and screened during the trial) nor distributed it.
