Greek Mafia and the Government: connecting the dots
Dear Member,
This is our weekly round-up from Greece.
All defendants in the 'Greek Mafia' trial are 'innocent,' the court concluded this week just two days after new significant evidence came to light, revealing that top police officers were in direct contact with gangsters. The court concluded without taking into account this evidence.
There were also four other significant developments indicative of how the Rule of Law is upheld (or not upheld) in this country. SYRIZA tried to pressure the government responsible for consecutive scandals and announced they would abstain from all parliamentary votes until elections. The decision came after the court ruling for the Greek Mafia trial and a new report on PM Mitsotakis's sister's family being wiretapped.
The Greek government has opened a new front with actors by downgrading their Drama School degrees to equal to High School diplomas. Artists took to the streets, bringing the issue to the EU Commission, but the whole thing seems to be triggered by the government's dogma of 'business as usual.'
"They were all innocent."
In our previous newsletter, we showcased how the Greek state has failed to protect a 12-year-old repeatedly raped and forced into prostitution girl, with the alternate Labour and Social Affairs Minister Domna Michailidou even unveiling where the girl is currently staying. In a case that does not seem related (yet, it is), a few weeks ago, we analyzed how the Athens Misdemeanours Appeals Court prosecutor proposed all defendants in the 'Greek Mafia' trial be acquitted and how the Greek Police Director of Security Dimitrios Davalos, prosecuted for his alleged participation in the 'Greek Mafia,' not only has been retained in office after having been charged with felonies but he was promoted to Security Director for the Attika region, as Reporters United revealed (Öffnet in neuem Fenster). To keep you posted, the Citizen Protection Ministry and the Greek Police issued press releases claiming they knew nothing (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) about the Davalos case - that he was under trial.
On Tuesday, the Greek Mafia trial ended - so we will connect the dots for you.
All 17 defendants were declared innocent - 13 with a unanimous and 4 with a majority vote. For two of them, the presiding judge was outvoted as he reckoned that an ex-Antiterrorist Unit official and a retired major-general had taken money from the murdered cashier of the gang, Dimitris Malamas, which they used to bribe other people.
Remember that among the defendants in this trial were retired and active high-ranking Greek police officials, lawyers, and 'usual suspects' of criminal rings, primarily involved in 'night businesses.' The trial is about (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)the Greek Intelligence Service EYP investigation during 2015-2017 concerning corruption inside the police and how money flew from hundreds of illegal brothels and illegal casino-card-playing clubs in downtown Athens.
Another Greek Mafia trial is still underway, which will decide if these 17 defendants are guilty or not for felonies - among others, for setting up a criminal organization and for blackmails.
The "long-suffering" case (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) file -as the presiding judge characterized it- played a decisive role in the defendants' acquittal. The 2016 transcription reports of the Greek National Intelligence wiretapping, which led to uncovering the ring, have gone missing, while the prosecutor spoke of destroyed DVDs.
However, it was never investigated why and how these reports have gone missing.
It is indicative that the trial prosecutor had proposed the acquittal of all defendants on the 11th of January, saying (Öffnet in neuem Fenster): "Unfortunately, despite the heavy-weighted charges, evidence is non-existent."
The exculpatory court decision combined with the "long-suffering" case file might influence the pre-trial procedure for the felonies' trial. According to legal circles, it may prevent the case from being re-tried.
Interestingly, the trial concluded just two days after the newspaper To Vima reported (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) that high-ranking Greek Police officers were in direct contact with 'godfathers.' The newspaper published their conversations. Here is a characteristic one:
Gang member: Good morning, general. Shall we help three gas stations, or shall I ask the ministry politicians?
High-ranking Greek Police officer: No, my friend. I'll [do it] immediately.
(Read here (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) more from this report in English).
The gang was aiming at preventing checks for fuel adulteration by the financial police, also putting gang-insider police officers in critical positions in investigating institutions. The corrupt police officers and gang members were claiming to be in contact with police-related politicians - current Citizen Protection Minister Theodorikakos has even been mentioned, something the Top Court prosecutor will investigate along with other aspects of the case.
How is the To Vima report connected with the Greek Mafia trial?
Because To Vima revealed that there has been evidence extracted from the mobile phones of the murdered 2018 ex-antiterrorist unit officer Papachristos, pointing to "two high-ranking officers, gang's cashiers." The mobiles had 'vanished' for two years, 'forgotten' in some Security Police Unit drawer.
The murdered ex-officer was among the 20 policemen, lawyers, and privateers EYP investigation had concluded they appeared implicated in the corruption gang who controlled 1,000 brothels, illegal cards playing associations, night clubs, etc. - the 'Greek Mafia.' In his phones, the investigation detected the names of some 75 people, mainly current and ex-high-ranking police officers.
Hence, the Greek Mafia trial concluded without examining the latest evidence on the case - the Papachristos's phones material.
We shall remind you that four people who came to the investigation center were murdered after 2018 (Öffnet in neuem Fenster), yet none of these murders has been solved. One of them is journalist Giorgos Karaivaz's murder. Karaivaz is reported (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) as being in contact with key people in the Greek Mafia case, as he said the journalist's job is to talk with everybody.
How is this all connected to the 12-year-old case we mentioned in the beginning?
Reporters United reported (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) last October evidence suggesting the brothel in which the girl was forced into prostitution was connected with the Greek Mafia. During 2015-2016, the alleged brothel owner was collecting brothels' protection money, protection provided by a police director and an ex-Antiterrorist officer - all these according to EYP's report, which brought the brothel owner to trial. As to the brothel, the police turned a blind eye and let it operate illegally, despite the fact it had been shut down since January 2020.
One journalist, Babis Polychroniadis for Reporters United, was covering the Greek Mafia trial (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) alone for months - only to be joined lately by another colleague.
Given all these, one may wonder how much of a coincidence it is that the Greek state exposed instead of protecting the 12-year-old child. In the latest development, the Labour Ministry employees slammed in a press release (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) alternate Minister Michailidou for revealing personal details of the abused child.
"The first judicial acquittal of all implicated in the corrupt high-ranking police officers and night mafia people gang did not come as a surprise," SYRIZA stated in a press release (Öffnet in neuem Fenster). "Some people tied the hands of Justice with delays and stonewalling, depriving the trial of crucial material as to EYP 2016-2018 wiretapping relating to the gang's dismantling, as for 3.5 years now the Greek Police did not transform EYP's information reports to interrogation sheets in the file case," they added.
Rule of Law (not)
In a decisive step, SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras announced during a press conference (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) on Tuesday that the main opposition party will, from now on, abstain from all Parliamentary votes. He called for the Parliament to be dissolved immediately and for elections to be held within three weeks - as "it is the Greek people who will respond promptly, and not the blackmailed ND MPs, in the crucial existential question set the day before in Parliament: With democracy or with aberration," he concluded.
The only exception will be -Tsipras said- to participate in the effort to prohibit the neonazis from running again for Parliament (see the 'Read' section).
Tsipras' statements came after the acquittal of the Greek Mafia defendants and a new report (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) by Documento newspaper, according to which PM Mitsotakis's sister (MP and ex-Minister) Dora Bakoyanni was wiretapped along with her two children, Athens Mayor Kostas and Alexia.
SYRIZA will not " legalize this unprecedented aberration, even if the 156 ND MPs decided to do so."
He called on all democratic parties, social institutions, local government, and unions "to set aside their possible differences and create a solid wall for the protection of democracy."
Why did Tsipras speak of "blackmailed ND MPs"?
Because -he stated (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)- the government's surveillance on ministers, heads of the armed forces, MEPs, and journalists had produced "rich" material which could be used to blackmail the political and economic system in the next five years.
Tensions escalated earlier this week when Syriza spokeswoman Popi Tsapanidou said the Greek PM "may know secrets of Androulakis and can blackmail him," thus affecting the post-election coalition talks. Pasok reacted strongly, saying this is nonsense, although the leader's party admitted earlier this year that his phone was bugged "because some want to keep Pasok hostage."
Amid escalating concerns in Athens that possible blackmail can shape electoral coalitions, Dutch MEP and rapporteur for the Committee of Inquiry to investigate the use of Pegasus and equivalent surveillance spyware (PEGA) Sophie in 't Veld told EURACTIV (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) that the investigation over the Greek wiretapping scandal should be completed before the national elections so "any shadow of a doubt is lifted."
Meanwhile, the Greek government did not make any public statement regarding OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Teresa Ribeiro's official visit to the country on 25 and 26 January.
Ribeiro's visit hardly found its way to the Press, if at all, despite that she met "with several counterparts, including Secretary General for Communication and Information Dimitris Galamatis, Adviser to the Prime Minister Konstantinos Koutras, Member of Parliament Dimitris Markopolous, President of the Journalists' Union of the Athens Daily Newspapers Maria Antoniadou, as well as journalists from the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation ERT and representatives of the media community," as OSCE reported (Öffnet in neuem Fenster).
"The use of wiretapping software is very concerning. It endangers the principle that journalists must be able to work without fear for their safety and to protect their sources so they can carry out their important democratic function, Ribeiro states. "I encouraged the authorities to ensure a swift and thorough investigation into the issue of spyware surveillance of media workers, as this constitutes a major interference with fundamental rights," she added, emphasizing the need to make progress on investigating the murder of the journalist, Giorgos Karaivaz, and to hold all those responsible to account…
…which brings us back to the Greek Mafia trial as Karaivaz was among those in the eye of the EYP mentioned above investigation who were murdered.
Speaking about the Rule of Law in Greece, other very worrying incidents took place this week:
➜ On Tuesday, lawyer Vasilis Chirdaris's office was broken into (Öffnet in neuem Fenster). Chirdaris is in the legal team defending ex-Corruption prosecutor Eleni Touloupaki, who has been brought to trial in the Special Court. Strangely enough, the thieves did not steal a thing.
➜ In an extensive report this week, under the title 'In Greece, a Corruption Prosecutor is under trial (Öffnet in neuem Fenster),' French Le Monde analyzed what has happened with the Novartis scandal (which the ND government was calling "Novartis conspiracy"). The newspaper emphasized that nobody has been convicted, yet Corruption Prosecutor Touloupaki, who has been investigating the scandal, ended up under trial herself, charged with abuse of power. "I knew that I was faced with large-scale corruption, but reality went beyond my imagination," Touloupaki stated. "For four years, what I experienced was like crossing the desert, a personal test."
➜ A prominent writer and outspoken critic of the Church of Greece was arrested (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) on Monday after a candidate with the Christian nationalist Greek Solution party sued him for defamation and accused him of violating his religious freedom. Petros Tatsopoulos was taken into custody in downtown Athens after speaking at an event on the incompatibility of religion and education. He was released a few hours later. The suit came after Tatsopoulos accused Kambouris of exploiting his faith to drum up voter support during a visit to a monastery in Nea Makri, eastern Attica, where he said that the patron saint, Efraim, performed a miracle that saved his life after a stroke in 2020.
➜ Despite a recommendation from the European Commission that considered the matter outside the scope of competence of the EU institutions, the PETI Committee of the European Parliament accepted the petition (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) of brutally murdered LGBT+ activist Zak Kostopoulos's parents, referring the matter to the LIBE Committee for an opinion. The petitioner, Zak's mother, Eleni, complained that all the police officers were acquitted and that police brutality and unnecessary use of violence have taken huge dimensions in Greece. Therefore, she asked the Members to use their power to stop these practices contrary to democracy and Justice and ensure respect for human life and dignity, adding that she is willing to present her petition to the Committee.
Zak's mother spoke about her son's murder (Öffnet in neuem Fenster). She said initially, they thought it would be easy to find Justice in the courts as there was a video showing what they did to her son. But, no: "The trial was farcical; there were lies, threats, lawyers accusing us of doing this for money," she said. Mrs. Kostopoulou noted the court's disappointing decision: "None of the two defendants are in jail. One is under house arrest, and the other stayed two months in jail and found a way to get out and be in his house."
"The murderers have expressed no remorse. Their testimonies prove they are fascists. The government supports the police officers who were not punished. They know they act unlawfully but will not give anyone an account. My only hope is you…" she said to the European Parliament.
Given all developments in Greece showcasing that the Rule of Law is in tatters, it came indeed as a surprise that the Economist upgraded Greece (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) in its 2022 Democracy Index - despite the country remaining a 'flawed democracy.'
The attack against the artists underway
Actors and theater workers went on a 48-hour strike this week. This was quite unusual. What has happened?
Well, they protested (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) a presidential decree significantly undermining their qualifications. According to this decree, a Drama School degree is equated with… a High School diploma! To ease reactions, the government drafted (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) an amendment to the decree, which, however, the artists say does not annul decree provisions.
Thus, artists took to the streets on Wednesday and Thursday, clearly unconvinced by the PM, who promised on FB to look into their requests.
National Theatre Drama School teachers have threatened they will all resign (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) in protest should the presidential decree not be altered until the 8th of February.
Actors unions report this recent development as "a direct attack on our labor rights" as their wages, should they sign a contract with a public sector institution, would be subject not to collective labor agreements but to the government in power at the time.
SYRIZA MEP Alexis Georgoulis brought the issue (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) of the unequal treatment of art studies to the European Commission by tabling two relevant questions.
Nothing changes regarding the Drama School degree holders' rights, government spokesman Oikonomou stated (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) on the 23rd of December when the first reactions to the presidential decree became evident.
If nothing changes, why does a government that has to deal with many essential issues choose to proceed with a new law?
Well, a particular timing may shed some light on the motives: Based on a new Education Ministry law, two private colleges, in cooperation with foreign universities, are currently configuring a Drama Studies curriculum, which actors have been reporting (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) already since December. These colleges "will give their graduates Bachelor degrees, superior to 'High School diplomas' the Culture Ministry [drama] schools give."
The ND government has shown preferential treatment to private colleges over time.
PS: Here (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) you can see some pics with riot police "guarding" the National Theatre from the people who give life to it - the artists who protest on the streets.
Read
OECD - EU Country Cancer Profile: Greece 2023 (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) A decade of financial austerity had a profound impact on social determinants of health in Greece, especially among the poorest population groups.
Hellenic Air Force confirms pilot died in F-4 jet crash (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)
Second F-4 pilot confirmed dead; Crash scenarios (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)
The jailed leader of Greek far-right party faces election ban (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)
Housing costs squeezing Greeks: (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)Nearly three-quarters of tenants in Greece spend over 40% of their monthly income on rent
Disproportionate rise in Greek food prices (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)
Inflation in Greece to fall to 7.2% in January, Eurostat says (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)
Church turned into a classroom on Crete (video) (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)
Olympic flame to take a seaborne journey to 2024 Paris Games (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)
January 2023 was one of the warmest recorded in Greece (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)
Plan Ahead
2023 Eleusis European Capital of Culture opening weekend Feb. 4-5 program (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)
That's all for this week, stay safe and see you next week!
