The following individuals have been in custody since Holy Saturday on suspicion of committing new crimes: Menios Fourthiotis both of the physical perpetrators of the staged attacks, according to the indictment, at the TV host’s home, following the statements they gave on Holy Saturday.
All three defendants, with the consent of the investigating judge and the prosecutor, were ordered to be held in pretrial detention on the grounds that serious evidence of their guilt had emerged. Both the TV presenter and his two co-defendants, who are also charged with shooting at police officers in Nea Erythraia, the pretrial detention warrant issued states that «based on the specific characteristics of the act, it can be inferred that »if released, he will commit new felonies or misdemeanors.".
The main defendant in the case, who is alleged to have He planned two attacks outside his home in order to be placed back under police guard, denied the allegations against him, stating emphatically that «the guard was never removed. This is a misunderstanding.».
According to the host: «I’m still under security protection today, just not to the same extent as before. My home is currently under security, as is my workplace. And in my other professional activities—that is, the TV show, the newspaper, the radio station, and the websites—there is strict surveillance and security. It is my personal security detail that has been withdrawn.».
Menios Fourthiotis told the investigator that when his personal security detail was reduced in early April and he was unable to find personnel from security firms, «I turned to people who work for Mr. Vryonis and at the Epsilon TV channel and are employed to guard his facilities,» initially hiring one and then the second co-defendant, with whom he agreed «that they would accompany me on various trips and monitor the premises of my home, both inside and outside. We didn’t meet very often, but we made a great many phone calls to each other.».
The defendant was questioned by the judge regarding a specific phone number and messages sent from that number to one of his co-defendants at the time of the incident involving the police officers. As Menios Fourthiotis replied, he is not familiar with that specific phone number because «I am the manager and spokesperson for many companies, and we have many company phones, so I am unable to know who specifically uses that number.».
Investigator: So you didn’t send the message on April 16, 2021, at 1:55 a.m. to your co-defendant that said, «If there’s a problem, let me know so I can help»?;
Defendant: No, I didn't send that message.
Investigating Judge: On April 16, 2021, at 1:00 a.m., when the shooting incident involving the police officers occurred, were you already holding your co-defendants in custody?;
Defendant: I was definitely talking to (..) with whom I was closer, and I was pressuring him to come because I was afraid, but in any case, I don’t think they had yet taken on the task of guarding me. In fact, I remember that because of the shots fired at the police officers, I was terrified and had called my lawyers as well.
Investigator: Regarding the shooting incident at your home on April 16, 2021, at 10:11 p.m., were the individuals mentioned above working for you at that time?;
Defendant: They definitely hadn’t started yet; or if they had, the security detail would have been stationed around the perimeter of the house—but again, I don’t remember for sure. On the night of the shooting, I was talking to (…), who heard the gunshots over the phone. I immediately hung up the phone, dropped to the floor, and set off the alarm. (He mentions the name of the person he was speaking with on the phone) called the police, and I, terrified, called all my lawyers.
Investigator: Did you also call your co-defendants?;
Answer: I don't remember.
Investigator: Do you know where your co-defendants were at that time?;
Answer: No, I don't know that.
In their own statements, the two men considered to be the principal perpetrators of the attacks—who allegedly opened fire on the police officers—denied any involvement in the acts attributed to them.
One of the two defendants, who was initially responsible for guarding the presenter, stated that the agreement they had made regarding the guard duty was «initially on an alternate-day basis, but during the last ten days before my arrest, it had become particularly burdensome, and in fact I was receiving calls from both his secretary and various third parties.».
Investigator: At 10:10 p.m. on April 16, the night of the shooting, didn’t Fourthiotis call you?;
Answer: I don't think he called me; otherwise, I would have gone back. Every time anything happened, he’d call us and pressure us and yell at us, saying we weren’t there to protect him. The last time I drove up there, I was alone; it was a few days before my arrest, but I don’t remember the exact date. Fourthiotis was very annoying and constantly bothered us…
The defendant admitted that the message «if there’s a problem, let me know so I can help» which he received on the night of the shooting at the police officers was sent by Fourthiotis, and he claimed that it was one of many messages the TV host had sent him. «I was definitely at home that night, sleeping, and I saw the message in the morning,» he said, also denying any connection to either the gunshots or the explosion outside Fourthiotis’s home.
The second defendant told the investigating judge that he had nothing to do with the shots fired at the police officers, stating that his motorcycle—which, according to the case file, was the one involved in the incident—was broken and could not be driven. He also denied any involvement in the two attacks on the TV host’s home, emphasizing that he had agreed to work as his security guard because he was promised a lucrative sum of money. Finally, he claimed that the phone call he received from the TV host five hours before the incident with the police officers concerned his escort for that day or the following day, and nothing else.
