Greek Supreme Court to Forward Complaint on 2019 Penal Code Revisions to Prosecutors

Greece's Supreme Court is set to transfer a complaint filed by Kyriakos Velopoulos, the leader of the Hellenic Solution party, to the Prosecutor's Office of First Instance. The complaint specifically targets statements made by Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis concerning the circumstances surrounding the passage of the penal code revisions in 2019, during the administration of former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

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in any other country, when vice-president of a government denounced a former prime minister for bribery, justice would have intervened ex officio

This development revives a case that has previously seen judicial scrutiny. Allegations regarding the penal code changes had surfaced before, prompted by complaints from former Justice Minister Stavros Kontonis, who alluded to behind-the-scenes interference and potential conflicts of interest. However, those prior investigations were twice archived following the completion of prosecutorial inquiries. Furthermore, even if new evidence of offenses were to emerge, they might now be time-barred due to the passage of two parliamentary sessions since the events in question.

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Hellenic Solution asks for the allegations of Adonis Georgiadis to be fully investigated

Upon exiting the Supreme Court, Velopoulos asserted that in any other country, a government vice-premier's accusation of bribery against a former prime minister would have triggered an immediate judicial investigation. He stated that Hellenic Solution demands a thorough examination of Georgiadis's allegations. Velopoulos also questioned why the New Democracy party did not act sooner if they were aware of the matter, describing the situation as "deep rot" and urging the justice system to identify who may have benefited from the penal code changes and to assign responsibility, regardless of whether it implicates Tsipras or anyone else.

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deep rot