High court slaps ex-Justice Minister with €10,000 fine, acquits prosecutor
Dimitris Papangelopoulos, a former Alternate Justice Minister in the left-led SYRIZA government from 2015-19 has been condemned on two counts of dereliction of duty by a special court but got slapped with a €10,000 fine instead of a prison sentence.
A majority of the panel of 13 judges from Greece’s two high courts, the Supreme Court and the Council of State, found Papangelopoulos guilty on Saturday of pressuring two prosecutors: one to file a damning report to Parliament recommending charges against MPs that had served as ministers in previous governments and the other to prosecute a top banker.
Papangelopoulos was acquitted of other similar charges of putting undue pressure on prosecutors.
The special court acquitted former prosecutor Eleni Touloupaki, who was head of the corruption office. The charge related to Touloupaki’s failure to act regarding allegations against SYRIZA health ministers Panagiotis Kouroumblis and Andreas Xanthos concerning drug pricing.
The special court’s prosecutor had recommended that both be acquitted. After the judges convicted Papangelopoulos, she proposed a €1,000 fine.
