Mitsotakis praises arrests in Marfin and Thessaloniki murders: 'No asterisks nor offsets against terrorism'

Arrests after the Nestora funeral

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis opened his regular Sunday post on 12 July 2026 by highlighting the arrests made on Friday, 10 July, of people alleged to have carried out four murders that have deeply wounded Greek society. The cases are the recent killing of Vagia Nestora in Thessaloniki and the 16-year-old arson attack on the Marfin bank branch, which claimed the lives of pregnant Angeliki Papathanasopoulou, Epameinondas Tsakalis and Paraskevi Zoulia. Mitsotakis noted that the arrests took place one day after Nestora's funeral, fulfilling what he described as the state's pledge not to leave these cases in the dark.

With the arrest of the suspects, a decisive step is taken so that justice may be served and an obligation fulfilled toward the victims of the Marfin arson, their families and their colleagues.

'The floor now belongs to Justice'

The prime minister framed the detentions as an institutional answer to political violence, stressing that a democratic state responds not with revenge but with institutions, legality and effective action by the authorities. He said the floor now belongs to the judiciary and noted the importance of voices of consensus and unity emerging at such a difficult moment.

In the face of terrorism there is no room for asterisks or offsets. Only a common front that will deprive those who choose violence of any trace of tolerance and any political alibi.

He added that this is the least owed to the memory of every victim of political violence and to the next generations.

NATO summit and Greek defence spending

Turning to the NATO summit, Mitsotakis said that in an environment of heightened geopolitical uncertainty Greece remains a stable and reliable ally without retreating from its national positions. He noted that Greece has already met the defence spending target of 3.5% of GDP as of 2026 and is implementing the largest armed forces modernisation programme in decades, worth 28 billion euros. The prime minister argued that the strength of a defensive alliance is not measured only by equipment but also by respect for the principles on which it was built, including good neighbourly relations.

Casus belli and Turkey

Mitsotakis reiterated that Greece consistently seeks good relations with all countries in the region but cannot ignore Turkey's long-standing casus belli, which he described as a historic misspelling unbefitting the relationship between two neighbouring countries.

We want dialogue, but peace and cooperation cannot coexist with threats of war.

He said this is a principled position that Athens voices consistently to all its allies. On the wider region, the prime minister stressed the need for diplomacy to prevail in Iran and the Middle East, arguing that stability in the broader area is a basic precondition for protecting households from new energy and cost-of-living price surges.