Under the microscope of the parliamentary committee on Defense are the revelations of "F" about the Egyptian grenades that seem to have been used after the expiration of their 10-year "life limit".
This was stated yesterday by the chairman of the parliamentary committee on Defense, Evgenios Hamboullas, in his televised statements on the two consecutive reports of our newspaper published last Saturday and yesterday, respectively.
Speaking to SIGMA, he said, in particular, that the minutes have already been requested for a discussion that took place in parliament on the same issue.
As "F" had revealed on February 27, 2024, investigating a serious injury of an ELDYK soldier during an exercise, the National Guard procured 75,000 grenades of type DG 270/2 until 2009, on the basis of a contract with an Egyptian company concluded in 2008.
We noted that in one of the clauses of the contract it is clearly stated that the grenades in question had a warranty of five years and a "SHELF LIFE" of 10 years based on the year of their manufacture. In the same publication we revealed that in 2023 the National Guard had supplied the Greek Force of Cyprus with grenades of the same batch.
One of them exploded in the arm of an ELDYK soldier during an exercise in the area of Stavrovouni on 21/02/2024, as a result of which the then 23-year-old soldier suffered a palm amputation and lost his right eye.
The 25-year-old Greek citizen filed a lawsuit against the Greek state, claiming compensation. Last Friday, as part of the lawsuit, his lawyers brought to the attention of the Three-Member Administrative Court of First Instance of Athens testimony stating that in the exercise in question the grenade that exploded came from the 2008 batch.
In fact, according to what his legal representatives presented to the court, the grenades "were visually checked for cracks by a lieutenant, two were removed due to cracks, two others were never detonated and one mutilated the right arm and destroyed the eyes of a Greek soldier".
Now, the decision of the Three-Member Administrative Court of First Instance of Athens is expected within the next few months.
Mr. Hamboullas, answering questions yesterday by the journalist, Christos Michalaros (SIGMA), said that "in the next sessions one of the issues that we will see is this".
At another point, he said: "I have contacted the leadership (of the army), I have received the necessary information, I am aware of some investigation carried out in the previous period, and I have asked for the Defense Committee to be informed so that it can draw its own conclusions."
However, Evgenios Hamboullas appeared reassuring: "We have assurances that the security measures taken are such that they do not endanger the lives of the members of the National Guard. We should also emphasize that in recent years the National Guard has now been able to access the markets of countries that have particular sensitivities to security issues and the upgrade, which is being attempted in terms of armaments and ammunition, is continuous."
The Minister of Defense, Vassilis Palmas, was sparing on the issue. Answering a journalist's question after the completion of the signing ceremony of a memorandum of cooperation between the Ministry and the CCCI, he said: "Since there is an ongoing legal process in Greece concerning this incident and the lawsuits filed by those who suffered the accident against the Greek state, I cannot make any other comment, because it may create other data and other conditions around this judicial process."
