Greek theatre director arrested on rape charges

Greek police have detained a prominent theatre director on charges of rape, the latest move in an unfolding “MeToo” scandal shaking the country’s arts establishment.

Dimitris Lignadis, the former artistic director of Greece’s National Theatre, who resigned this month after accusations of harassment, turned himself in to police on Saturday after a prosecutor issued an arrest warrant.

Greek TV showed Lignadis, handcuffed, being brought before a magistrate on Sunday. He will be detained until his plea on Wednesday, police said. His lawyer said he denies the charges.

The arrest warrant came after two lawsuits were filed against him by two men claiming they were raped by him at a much younger age. One of the two suits falls under the statute of limitations.

The case has fast spilled over into politics, with the parties in the opposition accusing the government and its culture minister of a failed cover-up attempt and calling for her resignation.

On Friday the culture minister, Lina Mendoni, whose ministry oversees the National Theatre, told reporters that Lignadis had fooled her, calling him a “dangerous man”.

“From the moment the rumours started … we pressed him a lot to tell us if he had any involvement,” Mendoni said. “I feel that Lignadis, apart from everything else, conned us.”

Greece’s #MeToo revelations took off when Sofia Bekatorou, a Greek sailing gold medallist in the 2004 Olympics, opened up last month about being sexually assaulted by a sports official as a 21-year-old.

Her account – and the outpouring of support it provoked – prompted dozens of actors, singers, athletes and students to come forward in Greece’s delayed MeToo moment, shaking the arts establishment and piling on pressure for change.