Former Leros mayor acquitted on appeal over dismissal of social worker

The three-judge Dodecanese Court of Appeal cleared Kolias on Thursday, 5 November 2026, bringing a significant development in a legal dispute that has continued for more than seven years.

The case centred on the dismissal of a social worker who was also the coordinator of the Leros Community Centre, a municipal service providing support to vulnerable residents.

Kolias had terminated her fixed-term employment contract on 30 August 2019, just two days before a newly elected municipal administration was due to take office.

The former mayor was represented in the appeal proceedings by lawyer Panagiotis Avrithis.

A conviction overturned

In November 2025, the three-judge Misdemeanour Court of Kos found Kolias guilty of breach of duty and imposed an 18-month prison sentence.

The lower court concluded that the dismissal had not been supported by sufficient legal grounds and had taken place during a period when restrictions applied to municipal staffing decisions.

Kolias challenged that ruling, and the appeals court has now acquitted him.

The detailed reasoning behind the acquittal has not yet been made public, leaving the precise grounds for the appellate judges' decision unclear.

The dispute dates back to the 2019 local elections

The dismissal followed the municipal elections of May 2019, at a time of political tension on the island.

Under decision No 104/2019, the outgoing municipal administration terminated the employee's contract, citing alleged breaches of data protection rules, shortcomings in her professional duties and inappropriate conduct towards members of the public.

It was also alleged that she had used her position to support a particular electoral group during the local elections.

These allegations were examined during the original trial but were not considered proven by the court.

Among the evidence considered was an official document issued by the South Aegean Region's managing authority on 23 August 2019, which indicated that the Community Centre was operating properly and did not attribute responsibility for any shortcomings to its coordinator.

Correspondence from the Greek Ministry of Labour also highlighted the employee's contribution to the centre's work.

The court further considered a statement from Ioannis Sorokakis, a mayoral candidate in the 2019 elections, indicating that the employee had not participated in campaign activities on behalf of his electoral group.

Questions over the timing of the dismissal

A central issue in the original proceedings was whether the outgoing mayor had been entitled to terminate the contract so close to the transfer of municipal power.

A circular issued by the Greek Ministry of the Interior in April 2019 restricted decisions affecting the employment status of local government staff during the electoral transition period.

The court in Kos ruled that the timing of the dismissal breached those restrictions and that sufficient grounds for terminating the contract had not been established.

The social worker participated in the original proceedings as a civil claimant. The lower court accepted that she had suffered serious harm, including difficulties securing comparable employment.

It remains unclear whether, or to what extent, the appeal court's ruling will affect any separate legal claims arising from her dismissal.

A case that has divided local opinion

The proceedings attracted considerable attention in Leros, where the dismissal took place during the final days of an outgoing municipal administration.

What began as an employment dispute subsequently developed into a criminal case involving the conduct of a former elected official.

More than seven years after the original dismissal, the appeal court's decision has now overturned Kolias's criminal conviction.

The acquittal represents the latest and decisive development in the criminal proceedings, although the detailed legal reasoning remains to be published.