One of Greece's best lyricists, Manolis Rasoulis was forced to flee his homeland when he was charged with making defamatory statements about singer Yorgos Dalara in an interview conducted by daily newspaper Exousia. A day after his departure, March 7, 2000, he was tried in absentia, convicted by the three-member First Instance (Misdemeanor) Court in Athens and sentenced to 12 months in prison. Although his greatest success has come via his collaboration with composer Petros Vagiopoulos, Rasoulis has written with other Greek composers including M. Loizos, C. Nikalopoulos, and D. Savapoulos. Rasoulis' songs have been sung by such Greek singers as Giorgos Xindaris, Giorgos Lizos, Orfeas Perithis, Kostas Makedonas, Natali Rasouli, and Andreas Karakotas. ~ Craig Harris