Ex-minister’s wife unhurt following suicide attempt
Viki Stamati, the wife of former Defense Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos who is serving a prison term for money laundering in an Athens psychiatric hospital, was recovering on Monday after other patients at the institution stopped her from taking her own life, Stamati’s lawyer said.
According to Frangiskos Ragousis, Stamati grabbed a knife from the institution’s dining room and tried to slit her wrists but was stopped by other residents.
Ragousis said Stamati was in “a terrible state” after finding out that her 8-year-old son, who is being cared for by his grandparents, had been hospitalized with intense stomach pains amid fears of appendicitis.
The 52-year-old had requested a furlough to see her son ahead of the August 15 national holiday but it was denied by authorities, the lawyer said.
Stamati has made several appeals to have her prison term commuted to house arrest but all of them have been rejected.
