The PASOK<\/b> pretends to want an independent Justice, <\/b>but in practice it wants it to be its subordinate. <\/b><\/p>\n
This is not the first time that PASOK, a party that ruled with the sole aim of absolute control over the structures of the state and the minds of the people, has turned against the judiciary in the most disparaging way.<\/b><\/p>\n
Its weapons have always been propaganda, fat words, appeals to the people, attacks and insults.<\/b> He pretends that he wants an independent judiciary, but in practice he wants it to be his slave. <\/p>\n
They celebrate if a court decision helps<\/b> them and they scorn the judicial officials whenever a court decision does not suit them.<\/b> <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
They have no confidence in Supreme Court,<\/b> an institution with a history of almost 200 years, and the Supreme Judicial Council, an institution with a history of almost 120 years, but they have confidence in the European Public Prosecutor’s Office,<\/b> a five-year-old “institution” that has not even been evaluated. <\/p>\n
They applaud<\/b> the decision of a one-member criminal court and denounce<\/b> the decision of the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n
This time, the occasion was the filing of the wiretapping case by the Supreme Court prosecutor, Constantine Tzavellas<\/b> – a judge who got to this position by the sword and was voted in by the majority of his colleagues. <\/p>\n
They are only doing it to confuse people,<\/b> going from Inquiry to Inquiry, causing damage to the only party that can govern the country<\/b>– while across the street there is total disintegration.<\/p>\nThey can’t find it for government, but they can find it for an Inquiry<\/b>
<\/h3>\n
And such is their selfishness that while they can’t find it in terms of possible governmental partnerships, they are now joining together, aggregating their scattered votes<\/b> – just as under Samaras-Venizelos others aggregated their votes with those of Golden Dawn, calling for a referendum on the so-called “small PPC”. <\/p>\n
So they ignored the Supreme Court’s finding (7\/30\/2024, 286 pages after a nine-month investigation) that assigned criminal responsibility for the surveillance to the companies that operated the illegal Predator software and their four legal representatives, who were eventually brought to justice and convicted in the first instance.<\/b> Neither the NSA nor any of the “accused” were held responsible. Neither to a “common center”, nor to Maximou, nor to the then Secretary General of the Prime Minister, Gregory Dimitriadis.<\/b> <\/p>\n
Now they are revolting because the Supreme Court has also sent the attempted withdrawal of the order of the deputy prosecutor A.P. to the archives, Mr. Zisi, because there was no new evidence to justify this.<\/b> <\/p>\n
But this is not the first time! Ever since we remember the General Assemblies of the Association of Judges and Prosecutors, PASOK ministers go to greet and end up attacking the judges.<\/b> As if judges don’t implement the laws passed by the legislature, but go about their business!<\/p>\nPASOK’s heavy past<\/b><\/h3>\n
<\/b>Their record is heavy. Whether they are in government or in opposition. In 2001, PASOK had “crucified” prosecutor K. Gerakis <\/b>for his conclusion on the Land Registry. They denounced an “umbilical cord between the prosecutors’ offices and the Rigillis”. They said that “this particular prosecutor had also in the past taken relevant initiatives for sensationalism.” <\/p>\n
We should remember the late Evangelos Giannopoulos<\/b> and his constant attacks, in his capacity as Minister of Justice, on the then (1998) President of the Supreme Court, K. Matthias,<\/b> when he convened the Plenary of the Supreme Court on the issue of the minister’s statements around pending cases? “It’s a completely foolish opinion”<\/b>, Yiannopoulos had ruled. <\/p>\n
Didn’t they call the members of the judiciary a “junta” for promoting S. Sokratidis to an impeachment judge;<\/b>Didn’t they call prosecutors Doyakos, Gerakis and Asprogerakas “actors of the Southwest”? Didn’t they call the Asprogerakas document “baseless and frivolous”?<\/b> <\/p>\n
Didn’t they speak (again in 2001, i.e. during their days) of political expediency when he was referred by the prosecutor of the Court of Appeal,Mr. Gold, <\/b>to the Judicial Council the case of DEKA (known for the pre-election tricks in the Stock Exchange, when it was called “Holy DEKA”<\/b>)? Someone was saying that “ND has found eagerly supportive judicial officials who feed its mill with acts and omissions”, another that “the Court of Audit is becoming an unintended vessel for partisan expediency”.<\/p>\nOnly the decisions that suit them<\/b>
<\/h3>\n
For the cases of the DECA, the National Land Registry and the Greekizations, the prosecutors had sent to the Parliament the file on the part concerning political figures. At the time, the PASOK government intervened in the judiciary, asking it to initiate disciplinary proceedings against the prosecutors<\/b> for alleged constitutional violations. <\/p>\n
But when, in June 2003, the Plenary of the Appeals Chamber decided not to assign the Stock Exchange case to an appellate investigator, the late Filippos Petsalnikos<\/b> had declared: “Today Justice has spoken and made its decision without prejudice”! For laughs and for tears!<\/b><\/p>\nRoots against judges<\/b>
<\/h3>\n
Should we remember what they were saying in 2005 when Romylos Kedikoglou<\/b> was chosen as the President of the Supreme Court? They wondered “who can trust him since in the period of ’89 he consistently and emphatically served the political expediencies of the New Democracy”! <\/p>\n
Let’s recall what the Supreme Court prosecutor Giorgos Sanidas<\/b> heard in June 2009, the day before he retired from the Supreme Court due to reaching the upper age limit, when, in a discussion with journalists, he insisted that he was right not to send the Vatopaidi and Bond files to Parliament<\/b>, since there was no new evidence to justify this, and that his position was de facto vindicated? <\/p>\n
And even though he had the glamour of his investigation into the uncovering of the criminal ring behind him…<\/p>\n
Let’s recall what the late Anastasis Papaligouras<\/b> heard, who, as Minister of Justice, was accused of interfering with justice because (1 November 2004) he asked Supreme Court prosecutor D. Lino to appeal against the acquittal verdict on the Stock Exchange case,<\/b> when Greeks lost all their savings; <\/p>\n
At the time, Mr. Koliokostas (Deputy Prosecutor of the Appeals Court) had appealed part of the acquittal verdict, claiming that the documents were not properly evaluated by the Plenary Council and asking for the case to be studied by the Appeals Council. The Appeals Council rejected Koliokosta’s request<\/b> and sent the case to the file in record time (17 November). <\/p>\n
Also at the time, Michalis Stathopoulos,<\/b> Justice Minister under PASOK, had said that it was “constitutionally legitimate and permissible” for Papaligoura’s motion, as he was merely asking “to be considered again”. <\/p>\n
Do they need to remember there in the Plenary of the Bar Associations that it was prosecutor Gerakis who in 2001 sent the case of the Legal Fund to Parliament,<\/b> because since 1998 the state had been illegally withholding and not paying back debts, leading the Fund to financial collapse? Of course – let’s face it – the Parliament had not then allowed the lifting of immunities.<\/p>\nConflicts at the Assembly of Judges<\/b>
<\/h3>\n
The General Assembly of the Association of Judges and Prosecutors, in January 2009, was also attended by Jiorgos Papandreou,<\/b> as leader of the opposition. In his speech, he had spoken about scandals, impunity and cover-ups.<\/b> He had denounced “party cronies”, “angels of catharsis” and judges “crowding into ministerial offices”, as well as about pressure and interference in the work of the judiciary and about the statute of limitations on offences. Causing the angry reaction of the then president of the Supreme Court, K. Nikopoulos.<\/b> <\/p>\n
They did the same when they returned to power that year. In March 2010, Papandreou, now prime minister, had criticised the way the judiciary <\/b>operated during a public meeting of the propaganda live cabinet. <\/p>\n
He had spoken of a “prevailing impression of impunity” and instances of “self-protection” by the judiciary branch. Noting that his foreign colleagues ask him “in Greece, there is no justice?”<\/b> <\/p>\n
This was followed by the reaction of Supreme Court prosecutor K. Tende,<\/b> who said: “You will allow me to disagree. I think that was not the meaning of your words, there is no impunity in Greece today.<\/b> We are making diligent efforts and doing our duty.”<\/p>\nEveryone as long as he is alive!<\/b>
<\/h3>\n
The clash continued due to Kastanidis’ statements against the decision of the Supreme Court plenary to reject his request to suspend Siemens investigator, K. Zagorianos. <\/b>The judges’ union leadership, chaired by H. “The judiciary officials of our country cannot force the Minister of Justice to respect themselves or force him to claim the respect of society. Justice cannot be manipulated.”<\/b> <\/p>\n
In November 2011, again at the General Assembly of the Association of Judges and Prosecutors, the then President of the Council of State, Panagiotis Pikrammenos,<\/b> felt the need to calmly set the record straight.
“Justice is called upon to perform a role that does not belong to it,”<\/b> he had said. “Frontal clashes between the three powers are not acceptable, especially in this period of economic crisis.”<\/b> <\/p>\n
At the same assembly, the president of the Judges and Prosecutors Association, Judge Advocate Gen. Athanasiou,<\/b> had prophetically referred to the ease with which Parliament is proceeding to set up Committees of Inquiry and Investigation because, as he had said,“there will come a time, if it has not come, when ministers will not sign contracts with a large financial scope”.<\/b><\/p>\nFocus on separation of powers<\/b>
<\/h3>\n
Always in 2011, the Association of Judges and Prosecutors ruled that it was right that the president and prosecutor of the Supreme Court, G. Kalamidas and I. Tentes,<\/b> respectively, refused to appear before the Parliament’s Committee on Institutions and Transparency<\/b> to discuss the problems of the administration and operation of the judiciary and the prison system. <\/p>\n
They were responding to the statement of the then Minister of Justice, Mr. Castanides that “some of the senior judges have not understood that under the constitution the first power is the legislative power and they are obliged to attend when called upon”.<\/b> <\/p>\n
As they stated, “the law schools of all advanced countries have from ancient times taught the distinction and equality of the three functions of the state<\/b> (legislative, judicial, executive). Since the above constitutional and supra-constitutional principles have been challenged, the President and the Prosecutor of the Supreme Court have rightly refused to appear before the above committee.” <\/p>\n
This brings us to June 2014, when PASOK again provoked the reaction of the Union of Public Prosecutors, when it described as “legally unacceptable” the action of the prosecution authorities to conduct a preliminary investigation into the submarine and Skaramanga shipyard case.<\/b> <\/p>\n
Conclusion: Judicial decisions are only good when they suit PASOK’s propaganda. <\/b><\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\n PASOK pretends that it wants an independent judiciary, but in practice it wants it to be its subordinate.
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