57 of the 58 farmers from Crete were found guilty by the three-member misdemeanor court, in the case of illegal subsidies from OPEKEPE, with land declarations in Northern Greece.
This concerns the case of Cretan farmers who, according to the charges by the European Public Prosecutor's Office, falsely declared that they owned or exploited areas of thousands of stremmas in Kastoria. The convicted persons declared the areas in order to receive support from the national reserve, either as pastureland or as cultivable land with olive or almond trees, species that do not thrive in the area.
The judges, by a majority decision, acquitted a female producer, accepting her claim of extinguishment of criminal liability due to the repayment, with interest, of the disputed sums of money she received. The amount is estimated at 30 thousand euros.
At the same time, the court converted the charges for some of those convicted and reduced for some the amounts that had initially been attributed to them in the indictment.
The defendants did not appear in court, being represented from the outset by their lawyers.
The proceedings will continue on July 1, when the court, after it decides on the mitigating circumstances requested by the defense, will announce its decision on the sentences.
The case reached Justice following a complaint by the president of the Kastoria Agricultural Cooperative, who testified as a witness at the trial.
SOURCE: ANA-MPA