"They kept hearing about his sexual relations with minors. There was a common denominator in all of this. We never knew the names of these children, they were taught not to speak", testified today at the trial of Dimitris Lignadis at the Mixed Jury Court of Athens, an actor - musician, who, he said, had met the defendant in 1993 and broke off all contact with him in 2006, when he realized that "he was having an affair with an underage boy".
Diametrically opposed was the testimony subsequently given in court by politician and actress Eleni Kourkoula, a close friend of Dimitris Lignadis.
The witness implied that the allegations against the director and actor were made to hurt both him and the Minister of Culture, by whose decision the accused had been placed in the position of artistic director of the National Theatre and even "applauded". She made it clear that she had never seen a minor accompanying Dimitris Lignadis, with whom, she said, she had shared holidays for many years.
In fact, today's court session began with Alexis Kougias, defense attorney for the accused director, announcing to the court that he was filing a lawsuit for false testimony, against witness N.S., who had claimed in a previous hearing that he was raped by the client with a metal rod in 2005 at the age of 19.
Questioning the credibility of this witness, Mr. Kougias stated that this person was 19 years old in 2005, when he suffered - as he claims - the rape, however, with a long delay, in 2021, he filed a complaint against D. Lignadis, without a forensic examination being able to determine whether she was indeed sexually abused.
"She was an adult at the time. There is no witness to corroborate his testimony of rape. Nor does his visit to Dimitri Lignadis' house. The defendant does not know the witness, he saw him for the first time in the courtroom. The witness remained inactive for 15 years and now he claims that he is interested in protecting other victims." Kougias stressed in court and asked that the minutes of the trial be forwarded to the prosecutor's office in order to investigate the offence of false testimony by the NS.
Then, an actor-musician took the witness stand, who said that he knows other persons who have been abused by the accused, but have not taken legal action against him. Although he was asked by the court to give the details of these persons, the witness replied that he did not want to do so because he did not have the consent of these persons.
The actor said that he met Dimitris Lignadis in 1993 and that he wrote music for the performances that the defendant directed. However, as he claimed, in 2006 he realized that he was having an affair with a minor and then decided to stop contact with him.
"In the spring of 2006 I was with a minor child, I knew he was having an affair with the defendant and I walked away. I had seen this child in rehearsals. The defendant had never openly admitted to having an affair with him, but you could tell they were together." This witness testified and went on to say the following: "I had seen other children with him in 2006. This particular boy I understood that he was not a philosophy student as he said. He had seen him from 2003 to 2004. He was 15 to 16 years old then. I could not understand then that he was a minor."
Chairman: Did you find that they had a sexual relationship?
Witness: With such a big age difference? They were living in the same room...
Chairman: Was there anything wrong with them living in the same room? How did you conclude that he had a sexual relationship?
Witness: I didn't know the truth about his age and that got me thinking, plus the rumors that were out there and the episode with the attempted murder of the accused.
Chairman:What do you know about that?
Witness: I don't know much about that. A friend called me and told me that they stabbed the accused...
Chairman: If you say that you saw him much earlier with underage boys and minors, why did you interrupt in 2006?
Witness: The time came when the glass was overflowing.
Chairman: How did your testimony come about now?
Witness: I saw the interview with B.C.
"First time I heard from his statements here that he was bisexual, he would never admit anything, he would never talk. He had a big issue admitting his identity. On the one hand it was like he was provoking and on the other hand it was like he wanted seriousness," the witness said and testified that he saw the defendant going to the theatre with minors and they "sitting up in the dark." Furthermore, the witness testified that he had seen Dimitri Lignadis go twice "beaten" to rehearsals.
Chairman: Do you know the complainants?
Witness: No.
Prosecutor: Did you say that he came to rehearsals beaten? When did he come and how many times?
Witness: Twice, once in 1996 and once in 1997.
Prosecutor: You did not ask him who stabbed him?
Witness: No, no one asked him about the stabbing either, he didn't tell us anything. All he told me was to write a song about the stabbed king.
Prosecutor: Did you see him accompanied by minors?
Witness: Yes, I and others saw him.
"There are other victims of him."
In response to other questions from the prosecutor, the witness claimed that he knows other people who have been abused by the defendant and have not sought justice.
Then, in response to questions from the prosecution, he said that after the knife attack against D. Lignadi and his hospitalization at the "Sotiria" hospital, "it was discussed that it was by an indignant father...". Furthermore, he claimed that he had heard that since 1984 the defendant had been accused of indecency against a minor, but as he said, at that time he had believed these rumours.
Prosecution: You said that you knew another person who was abused. What did he tell you? How he was abused? Was he a minor?
Witness: No, he was not a minor. He told me that the defendant used violence during sex.
Prosecution: The defendant says you had a sexual relationship?
Witness: We had a flirtation on his part. He met me in the bar at the National in 1993, I was 20 years old at the time. He came to the theatre and sent me flowers on opening night. We never had a relationship, we never broke up as he says. We had a friendly relationship.
Witness: No.
Defence: From what age were you in the environment of Hatzidakis?
Witness: From 2nd grade. The father of a friend of mine knew Hatzidakis' sound engineer at ERT and I sent him a demo of me.
Defense:
Then why are you criticizing Lignadis for hanging out with his students? Is that bad?Witness: He had a group of 4 - 5 people. This circle was opening...
Defence: Why is that bad?
Witness: I didn't say it was bad.
Defence: Is that bad? Wasn't it customary at the Kun's place?
Witness: I wasn't at the Kun's place.
Prosecutor: In conclusion, will you refer to the persons - as you said you know that they were abused by the accused?
Witness: No I don't want to
Prosecutor: Do you know these persons?
Witness: Yes, I know some of these persons.
President: You know names and you don't want to say? Or is what you know only hearsay?
Witness: There are people who do not wish to speak, some of them I know.
"They wanted to hurt him."
Then the actress and politician Eleni Kourkoula took the witness stand, who even informed the bench that while she was outside the courtroom waiting to testify, she was being beaten up by a person who is a witness in the case.
"I know Dimitris Lignadis 1990."
"I know Dimitris Lignadis 1990.""I know Dimitris Lignadis 1990. We are brotherly friends. I consider him my family," the witness said and referred to joint holidays she had with the director and their daily communication.
Chairman: Are there any allegations of rape here? Do you know the complainants had you seen anyone in the environment of the accused?
Witness: Never anyone. He fell from the clouds when this all started. In those days a wave broke out that something was going to be done with Lignadi....
Chairman: Had you found out that his behaviour was unacceptable? That he was involved with minors?
Witness: With minors never. With adults yes, both women and men. I know his affairs and girls and boys.
Chairman: Generally what kind of man is he in that aspect of him?
Witness: He was polite more than normal, he was always attentive. He would come to our cottage with his relations and I could see that they were normal. There was not even the suspicion of a man doing what he wanted.
Chairman: On your outings did you see young people surrounding you?
Witness: Children never. Children never, I repeat. With young people women and men, of course.
Chairman: How would I describe him generally as a man?
Witness: I would describe him - strange as it may sound in this room a sweet and tender man.
Chairman: How did you perceive the events of his arrest?
Witness: The ceiling fell on my head. I was hearing 20 days before his arrest that "something was coming with Lignadi". I asked him several times, not once, "What is it that is coming?" He told me "I don't know". After he went alone to the GADA then he was arrested."
Continuing, the witness said: "For one of the gentlemen who denounced him and says he was raped, Dimitris wrote in his diary that on those dates he was in Ithaca with me. I saw my mobile phone was full of photos of Ithaca with him. I went to the interrogator and he testified. This gentleman then said he got the dates mixed up, as did another of the complainants. The question is mine: Why did he not wait six months to be sure, rather than falling for as many inaccuracies as he could."
Chairman: What period are you talking about?
Witness: August 2015. From the beginning of August until the 20th of the same month. That's how long we stay in Ithaca every year. We rent a house. This 20 days was in two installments. The first half Dimitris had brought a friend of his, Mr. Michelatos. And then his brother came with his niece. A lot of people saw this in Ithaca and offered to testify.
Chairman: Are you aware that there were complaints against the accused in the past?
Witness: No, I am not aware of that.
Prosecutor: You never saw him hosting a person and even a person of foreign nationality?
Witness: Never.
Furthermore, Ms. Kourkoula also referred to the female witness who testified against Dimitris Lignadi, saying that she was a person who was obsessed with him. Regarding the knife attack the accused had received in 2002, the witness told the court, among other things: "Someone had set him up in the dark in the hallway while he was going to enter his house. From then on, a paraphilia ....This started immediately."
As the witness said, some people were saying, at the time, that the father of a child, who in their opinion, "had been molested by Dimitri had stabbed him." But as she said, there was no complaint about this case. "None of this is the truth. Dimitris, as had happened to me, fell victim to a man who wanted to rob him."
Ms. Kourkoula said.
Prosecutor: Was any object taken from him that night? A wallet?
Witness: I don't remember.
Prosecutor: Did the complainants have any reason to harm the defendant?
Witness: That's the big question. Who are these gentlemen who after all these years were in a hurry to report their rape within four days. This is a case of "let's get Lignadi out of the way now". Some people envied him and he always had an envy-inducing personality. I remember prosecution counsel saying on television that anyone who is to denounce Mr. Lignadi should do so now. I remember there was one like a telly and he would say "now for Lignadi". What do I think? Because he was the director of the National they wanted to hurt him.
Prosecutor: Why?
Witness: They had many reasons. To hurt the minister, himself, even the prime minister. The minister chose him. When Lignadis was chosen for the position of artistic director of the National Theatre, he was chosen with applause. When #metoo exploded they said: "here's the golden opportunity to eat Lignadis". I didn't see any serious person from inside the theatre denounce him and say "he raped me in the dressing room". On the contrary, I saw some strange personalities. Some people began to think that it was not on the part of the government to take an opportunity to bore "the lively Lignadi", to finish him off. And drifting along, many media outlets succeeded. I heard about the anthropomorphic monster in those days. ...
The next court hearing has been set for June 16.
Source: protothema.gr
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