Known for spectacular escapes: How did Alket Rizai get 16 leaves from a Greek prison?

Alket Rizai, the Albanian convicted in Greece for several serious criminal offenses and known for two spectacular prison escapes, has returned to the attention of the Greek media. The reason is questions about how he repeatedly benefited from permits to temporarily leave prison.

According to Greek media reports, since 2021 Rizai had benefited from 16 exit permits, despite his criminal record and previous escapes. The latest permit was accompanied by an armed incident outside a bar in the Saronida area, reigniting the debate over the criteria and controls applied for prisoners benefiting from this procedure.

How are prison exit permits granted? According to the Greek legal framework described by local media, prisoners can request permits after fulfilling several conditions defined by law.

The request is reviewed by the relevant prison bodies, while in the process the convict’s behavior during the serving of the sentence is taken into consideration, as well as how he has respected the conditions of previous permits.

It is precisely the high number of permits granted to Rizai that has raised questions about how his dangerousness was assessed and whether controls were sufficient.

Execution inside the prison and Rizai’s presence Another event that drew attention happened on February 18, 2026, when the Greek convict Antonis Papadatos was killed inside Domokos prison.

According to reports published in Greece, the 43-year-old was shot in the prison office by a Bulgarian convict, who is accused of murdering businessman Yannis Makris in 2018.

At the moment of the event, near the victim were also a prison guard and Alket Rizai. The latter’s role in the event has not been made clear by the cited reports.

Two helicopter escapes Rizai became known in Greece in 2006, when he escaped from Korydallos prison by helicopter together with Vasilis Paleokostas, one of the persons most wanted by the Greek authorities.

The escape caused strong reactions and criticism of the security system in prisons, while the story received great attention in the Greek media.

Three years later, on February 22, 2009, Rizai and Paleokostas escaped again by helicopter from Korydallos prison. This second escape caused another wave of criticism toward the authorities and security measures.

Rizai was arrested several months later in Grammatiko, together with an accomplice.

The story of the two spectacular escapes, combined with the high number of permits obtained over the years, has brought back to Greece the debate on how the dangerousness of convicts is assessed and the functioning of the prison exit permit system.