Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced in Parliament on Thursday, tougher action would be taken for those convicted with arson, as fires continue to burn in Greece for the 13th consecutive day.
In his Parliament address, Mitsotakis said fines will be increased and convicted arsonists will serve their sentence in jail, even in cases of negligence, according to Ekathimerini.
Mitsotakis told lawmakers, “We had a difficult summer, which is not over yet as the fire in Evros is still burning. Our first goal is to seek answers and converge on solutions. The climate crisis is here, increasingly threatening all of us.”
The forest blaze in Greece has been the largest wildfire ever recorded in Europe since the bloc started keeping records, reported The Guardian.
The Prime Minister noted the fires, notably in Evros, has been particularly difficult to fight and “will be studied for many years by scientists. Authorities observed a “fire cloud” that “had not been observed since the 2018 wildfires in California.”
However, Mitsotakis said the cause of the massive fire which continues to burn in Evros is under investigation.
On August 23, Supreme Court Prosecutor of Greece, Georgia Adeilini, called for an investigation into the origins of the devastating fire in the northeastern Evros region, alongside an exhaustive examination into reported instances of racially motivated violence against migrants.
“It is almost certain that the cause is man-made. And it is almost certain that it was lit on routes used by illegal migrants,” the minister explained.
Read more: Wildfires continue as Greece cracks down on arsonists
Source: Ekathimerini
