A man who participated in the wildfire as a volunteer and was accused of arson and was unfairly imprisoned was later cleared of the frame.



On the 10th local time, local media such as the Greek Herald and Greek City Times reported the story of a man who was indicted for arson and detained for 11 months after being charged with arson while volunteering at the scene of a wildfire in the Attica region of Greece in August last year.



Theodosis Kakouris, 44, is an Australian Greek who was born in Melbourne, Australia and moved to Athens when he was 8 years old.



At the time, Kakuris said in an interview with the local media, "It's not a situation to celebrate, but it's bittersweet and we still need time to adjust."



In early August of last year, while watching the Olympics on TV, he learned that a fire had occurred due to an emergency alarm that suddenly sounded, and he thought that he should help in some way, so he packed all his equipment and hurriedly got on a motorcycle and arrived at the scene.



Upon arriving at the scene of the fire, Kakuris ran around enough to melt the soles of his shoes, and a resident who saw him barefoot even gave away a pair of shoes, explaining the urgency at the time.


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However, three days after the fire, he was arrested by the police who came after receiving a report. 



Police identified him as an arsonist based on witnesses around him saying, "I saw a suspicious person driving a motorcycle" and "There was a new fire every time Kakuris moved."



Witnesses said, "Kakuris was not the owner of the motorcycle I saw, nor did he look like a suspicious person," and "It is true that a new fire broke out in his movement, but I did not see it set on fire." It didn't.



During the three trials, the residents who helped him came forward and testified that "Kakuris did everything he could to put out the fire" and "Thanks to his help, we saved 4 out of 5 houses we own nearby." He also submitted photos and videos of him at the scene of the fire as evidence.



In the end, he was unanimously acquitted and released when Kacuris' lawyers presented evidence of the fire department's investigation that the cause of the fire was a telephone pole near the forest.


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Kacuris recalled the trial and said, "The referee judge mentioned a judicial error, but said to me, 'I hope to continue doing good in the future,' but I don't know if that can be done."



He continued, "I longed for freedom in prison for 11 months," he said bitterly, "I will never go near the fire again. I think I will only help if there is a fire from 50m or 100m away."



(Photo = Captured by the Greek Herald, Theodosis Kakuris Facebook)