Judges at the Athens Court of Appeals on Thursday rejected a petition by prominent actor/director Dimitris Ligandis demanding a psychological evaluation of three defendants accusing him of raping them when they were still minors.
The former artistic director of the Greek National Theater was convicted in July 2022 for the rape of two 17-year-old boys in separate incidents that took place in 2015. He was sentenced to a total of 12 years in prison, suspended pending appeal. The same court also acquitted him over two other allegations involving a 16-year-old boy and an adult man.
Lignadis is now being tried on appeal on three counts of rape of a minor and faces the possibility of a harsher sentence if convicted.
During Wednesday’s hearing, his defense team petitioned the court to appoint a psychologist or psychiatrist to evaluate the complainants’ ability to perceive and recall events, assess the reliability of their testimony and examine their mental state.
The judges’ decision to reject the request went against the prosecutor’s recommendation.
