A court in Ioannina, north-western Greece, has acquitted Father Antonios Papanikolaou, founder of the Ark of the World charity, and two co-defendants of all charges in a case concerning the treatment of minors at the organisation’s facility in the city.
The Three-Member Misdemeanour Court of Ioannina issued its ruling after several months of hearings, in line with the prosecutor’s recommendation, according to a statement by the defence lawyers reported by Epirusgate.gr. The court found that the alleged offences had not been proven.
The other defendants were Andriani Theodorakopoulou, former director of the Ioannina facility, and educator Paschalis Skordas.
Theodorakopoulou faced charges of causing bodily harm to minors through the deliberate infliction of psychological pain, as well as unlawful detention and coercion. Skordas faced charges of causing bodily harm to minors. Prosecutors accused Father Antonios of instigating these alleged offences.
The court acquitted all three defendants after examining the evidence.
Defence lawyers welcome the ruling
In a joint statement, defence lawyers Dimitrios Dimos, Christina Mastora and Georgios Georgiou said the court based its decision on the evidence presented during the trial.
“The issue now belongs to the justice system, which ruled on the basis of evidence rather than impressions,” they said.
The lawyers highlighted Father Antonios’s work through the Ark of the World since 1998, saying the organisation had provided shelter, care and education to thousands of children. They also noted that the founder had received recognition from the Academy of Athens and the European Parliament for his work.
The defence lawyers strongly criticised the public treatment of their clients throughout the case. They argued that the authorities and public commentary had failed to respect the presumption of innocence, portraying the defendants as guilty before the court reached its decision.
“Throughout these years, the presumption of innocence was blatantly violated. Our clients were publicly treated as guilty before they stood trial, and their reputations were exposed without reservation,” the lawyers said.
They stressed that the presumption of innocence remains a fundamental safeguard that everyone must respect, particularly those who influence public opinion.
The lawyers also referred to the extensive media coverage of the criminal prosecution launched in 2022 and subsequent legal developments, including a separate conviction issued in absentia by the Athens Court of Appeal. They called on the media to give the Ioannina acquittals the same level of coverage as the earlier proceedings.
The Ioannina ruling applies only to the specific charges examined in that case and does not determine the outcome of other legal proceedings connected to the Ark of the World.
Father Antonios says the ruling vindicates the charity’s work
Father Antonios appeared visibly moved after the court announced its decision. He thanked the judiciary and spoke about the support he said he had received from members of the public over the years.
“Justice has found me innocent,” he said.
He said his greatest satisfaction came from what he described as the vindication of the charity’s work.
“After such a long time, we have been acquitted, but what matters most to me is that the work of the Ark of the World has proved unblemished and that it offered everything to society,” he said.
Father Antonios also expressed gratitude to the thousands of people who had supported the organisation through voluntary work and other contributions.
“My greatest satisfaction is that today the great work of the Ark, which we carried out over many years, has been vindicated,” he said.
He described the public support he had experienced despite the extensive negative publicity as “a very great miracle”. He claimed that people familiar with the charity’s work had not been swayed by the allegations.
“Despite the barrage of negative publicity, people did not believe these lies,” he said.
He concluded by thanking God and the members of the judiciary for the outcome.
(Source: AMNA)
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