Chief prison officer arrested over fatal shooting inside prison

Police on Wednesday arrested the chief prison officer of Domokos Prison on charges of complicity in murder, following his alleged involvement in what authorities suspect was a contract killing inside the high-security facility on February 15.

The victim, Antonis Papadatos, 42, was shot three times in the head on Sunday evening within the prison. He had been serving a sentence for the 2021 murder of hotelier Dionysis "Dimis" Korfiatis in Zakynthos.

The alleged gunman, a Bulgarian national identified as S.R., known as “Razvan,” is currently serving a life sentence for the October 2018 murder of Greek-Australian businessman John Makris outside his home in Voula. According to investigators, the prison’s chief guard and possibly another inmate, Alket Rizaj, were present at the time of the shooting.

According to Kathimerini, the incident occurred at approximately 7 p.m. in a room reportedly lacking security camera coverage—described by police sources as the prison’s only “blind spot”—which is typically used for meetings.

Initial accounts provided by inmate eyewitnesses claimed that Papadatos entered the office armed with a revolver and appeared to be attempting to shoot the chief prison officer. According to this version of events, two inmates present—an unnamed Bulgarian serving a life sentence for the Makris murder and Rizaj—disarmed Papadatos and fatally shot him while trying to protect the officer.

However, the investigative magistrate in Fthiotida overseeing the case reportedly found this account unconvincing. On Tuesday, the chief prison officer was formally dismissed from his post, according to an announcement published on the government transparency platform Diavgeia.

Authorities continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the killing.