Former PM Tsipras deplores erosion of rule of law in Greece; gov’t responds

Former leftist prime minister Alexis Tsipras on Friday criticized the purported erosion of the rule of law in Greece under the conservative New Democracy government, accusing judicial authorities of failing to investigate or even covering up several high-profile cases.

Tsipras, who served as prime minister from 2015 to 2019, was speaking in Parliament during an event commemorating the 50th anniversary of Greece’s ratification of the European Convention on Human Rights and the 75th anniversary of the Council of Europe.

“We can reasonably hope that the institutions of the Council of Europe will contribute to resolving cases that represent the biggest black marks and open wounds of the rule of law in our homeland, which, unfortunately, have emerged in recent years,” he said.

The former SYRIZA leader explicitly referenced the wiretapping scandal involving politicians, military leaders and journalists in Greece, an issue over which the government has denied any wrongdoing or knowingly wiretapping anyone.

In July, Supreme Court prosecutor Georgia Adeilini announced that she found no evidence linking the country’s National Intelligence Service (EYP), the police force, or its anti-terrorism division to the use of Predator spyware, which opposition groups allege was deployed against some government critics.

Tsipras also highlighted the migrant shipwreck off the coast of Peloponnese in June 2023, which resulted in over 500 deaths – one of the Mediterranean’s worst maritime disasters. Human rights organizations have accused the authorities of a lack of progress in investigating the circumstances that led to the disaster, amid claims that the Hellenic Coast Guard’s “actions and omissions” contributed to the shipwreck.

Tsipras finally mentioned the railway crash near Tempe Valley in central Greece in February 2023, which claimed the lives of 57 people. The trial over the deadliest train disaster in the country’s history keeps getting pushed back by delays in key elements of the investigation. Meanwhile, relatives of the victims and survivors have expressed their lack of confidence in the official inquiry. Last year, they formed their own committee of experts, contending that state-appointed investigators had not only squandered time but also overlooked crucial evidence.

“If we want to celebrate anniversaries like today’s with greater pride in the future, it is imperative that both the executive and judicial branches rise to the occasion,” Tsipras said. “This is essential for us to genuinely speak of deepening the rule of law and having a strong democracy, rather than a struggling one.”

Adeilini chose to walk out during Tsipras’ criticism of the justice system’s performance, which prompted him to make an off-the-cuff remark urging the judicial authorities to “at the very least, sit and listen.”

Tsipras faced sharp criticism from the government over his comments later on Friday. In a statement, spokesman Pavlos Marinakis accused the former premier of attempting to influence the judiciary regarding ongoing investigations.

Marinakis argued that the recent decision by two prosecutors to lift the protected status of two key witnesses in the long-running Novartis bribery scandal demonstrated that SYRIZA had during its government tenure sought to manipulate justice to inflict political damage on its opponents.

“Next to the word ‘audacity’ in the dictionary, there should be a photo of Mr Tsipras,” he said.