Unanimous “no” to recognizing mitigating factors for Petros Filippidis was the decision of the Athens Mixed Jury Court of Appeal. His defense had requested recognition of mitigating circumstances for his previous lawful life and good behavior after the act. Earlier, the prosecutor had recommended accepting the mitigating circumstances of previous lawful life and good behavior after the act that the defense had requested. It should be noted that in a packed courtroom, the verdict of the three regular judges and four jurors was announced earlier regarding the Petros Filippidis case. The court unanimously found the well-known actor guilty of two attempted rapes.
The court convicted him after a stormy and lengthy hearing process that lasted nine months and did not adopt the prosecutor’s proposal which had sought the actor’s complete acquittal from the charges he faced. Notable actors were present in the courtroom. Former president of the Greek Actors’ Union, Spyros Bimbilas, was also at the court. Upon hearing the verdict, the two accusers broke into tears, as did Anna-Maria Papacharalampous and Lena Drosaki, who were present in the courtroom.
Read: Verdict announced for Petros Filippidis – Final act in trial that shocked Greek #metoo
Petros Filippidis: The accusations and testimonies that shocked
The well-known actor and director was tried on appeal for two attempted rapes. The first accusation concerns an incident in 2010, when, according to the victim’s testimony, the defendant attempted to rape her in his dressing room at the Mousouri Theater during a professional meeting. The second attempt allegedly occurred in 2014, inside his car, after a professional appointment.
In the first instance, the court had sentenced Petros Filippidis to eight years imprisonment, while it ruled that the appeal would have suspensive effect, resulting in the defendant remaining free under restrictive conditions until the Court of Appeal’s verdict. He had also been acquitted of the charge of continuous rape, for which he had initially been referred. Before the second-instance court, the two accusers repeated their descriptions, speaking of real incidents they had kept silent about for years, due to fear and the influence that – as they emphasized – the actor wielded in the theater community at the time.
Petros Filippidis’s position during the hearing process
Petros Filippidis, for his part, categorically denied the acts, arguing that the accusations are false and fabricated, aimed at damaging his personal and professional standing.
The prosecutor’s proposal
The prosecutor Andreas Karaflos, in his proposal, recommended the complete acquittal of the defendant. As he pointed out, sufficient evidence did not emerge to establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt, while he mentioned that the case file contained gaps that did not allow for safe judgment.
