The body of a man who was burned to death on Thursday afternoon after the car he was driving caught fire on Attiki Odos highway in Athens is that of indicted newspaper publisher Panayiotis Mavrikos, police said, adding that the luxury vehicle belonged to the wife.
Mavrikos has been arrested a few months ago along with two journalists in his newspaper “Acropolis” on charges of blackmailing executives in public organizations, companies and banks and embezzling the Greek state.
Policemen who arrived at the spot pulled out a burned body from the car that appeared to be of a man but said that only a DNA test can reveal if it is that of the publisher, who had been released on bail pending trail. According to a police officer, the traffic camera in Attiki Odos shows the Porsche Cayenne stopping at the side of the road, on the traffic lane leading to Elefsina, consumed in flames.
Traffic police also said an eye-witness claimed the car caught fire while on the move and then stopped at the median barrier, possibly trapping the driver. The fire department tried to put out the fire but the car had already been destroyed and the driver burned to death. Police has reportedly already ruled out a traffic accident, which leaves all other possibilities open on what caused the car to ignite.
The vehicle is now being examined by the police’s bomb disposal unit to find out what caused the fire and whether it was foul play, while the overall investigation is conducted by Attica Police.
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