Prosecutor insists founder of Ark stands trial for abuse

The Athens District Prosecutor has recommended that the founder and former head of children’s charity Kivotos tou Kosmou (Ark of the World), Father Antonios Papanikolaou, should stand trial in connection with  abuse of minors at Ark facilities.

In his motion to the Council of Misdemeanors, the prosecutor said a video in which a plaintiff recanted his original testimony was unreliable. The 14-year-old’s lawyers had produced documents and phone messages showing the boy had been manipulated to recant his original testimony. The minor’s custody had been assigned by a court to the organization and he had spent more than half of his life in Ark facilities. The Athens Plenary Council will now decide whether the Ark founder will be brought to trial before the Mixed Jury Court for abuse of minors. 

Another trial is under way at the Athens Plenary Court concerning alleged beatings and punishments of minors at Ark facilities. ​​​​