Kastellorizo doctor arrested after port altercation; health minister distances incident from national system
A rural doctor on the Greek island of Kastellorizo was arrested following a port altercation, hours after his resignation was accepted. Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis said the incident is a private dispute unrelated to the national health system.
Background
Two rural doctors began serving at the Polyclinic of Megisti (Kastellorizo) less than a month ago. They publicly complained about housing conditions and staffing shortages. Tensions with the local municipality and community escalated.
Resignations and departure
The doctors submitted a request for simultaneous leave, which was denied by the administrator of the 2nd Health Region (YPE) of Piraeus and the Aegean. They then resigned. The resignations were accepted, and as of the morning of Friday, 3 July 2026, they ceased to be public employees. The 2nd YPE stated that it bears no responsibility for any subsequent incidents, as the doctors were private citizens at that point.
Port altercation and arrest
Later that day, as the doctors attempted to leave the island, a dispute broke out at the port with municipal employees. Conflicting accounts emerged: some reports said the mayor filed a defamation lawsuit, while police sources cited by NewsIT indicated the complaint came from a local shopkeeper after an argument over tables blocking an ambulance. One doctor was arrested and taken into custody under the flagrante delicto procedure, but was released a few hours later. The municipality of Megisti denied that the doctor was handcuffed and insisted that health services on the island never ceased.
- Two rural doctors' request for simultaneous leave is rejected by the 2nd Health Region administrator.
- Both doctors submit their resignations.
- Resignations are formally accepted; as of morning of 3 July 2026, doctors are no longer public employees.
- While attempting to leave the island, a dispute breaks out between the doctors and municipal employees at the port.
- One doctor is arrested following a complaint; police sources say the complaint was filed by a local shopkeeper, not the mayor.
- The doctor is released a few hours later; the case will proceed through the judicial process.
Official reactions
Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis posted on social media that the incident had nothing to do with the national health system (ESY) or the electronic prescription system. He said the two doctors had resigned due to "many problems of cooperation with the municipality and the local community," and that the 2nd YPE had already sent a general practitioner and another rural doctor to ensure the island would not be left without medical coverage.
The incident with the arrest of the rural doctor has nothing to do with the ESY, nor with the electronic prescription system. It is an incident between the rural doctor, a municipal employee, and the police. Let the propaganda against the ESY finally stop.
The municipality, after an emergency council meeting, said that inaccurate information had been circulated, including claims that the island was left without a doctor. It stated that a general practitioner was already serving on the island before the events, and that health services, including drug prescriptions, continued uninterrupted.
Complaints against the doctor
The municipality also highlighted two complaints against the doctor: one from a 70-year-old woman who alleged threatening behavior, and another from a municipal employee who said she was locked in a common area by the doctor during a visit to a municipal lodging where lock repairs were underway. The municipality's lawyer, Stelios Alexandris, told iefimerida that the municipality had no involvement in the case and that the doctor had previously caused similar problems on the island of Tinos, leading to his removal.
