Thousands of Greeks paralyse Athens as rule of law takes centre stage

Hundreds of thousands of Greeks took to the streets of Athens on Wednesday (28 February) as the Mediterranean country marked a year since a deadly train accident killed 57 people amid complaints that the authorities are trying to cover up those responsible.

Meanwhile, the tragic accident has sparked a wider debate in Athens and Brussels regarding the state of the rule of law in the country.

Train tragedy: ‘How corruption may literally kill’

One year ago, an intercity passenger train travelling from Athens to the northern city of Thessaloniki collided at high speed with a cargo train outside the city of Larissa in central Greece, killing 57 people, mainly young students.

Amid remarkable delays in investigating the case, the victims’ relatives started a campaign collecting more than one million signatures for a resolution to hold politicians related to the accident responsible by abolishing their immunity.

After the accident, the Greek parliament set up a hoc committee to examine whether former transport minister Kostas Karamanlis, who resigned in the meantime, has criminal responsibilities.

Most lawmakers – coming from the ruling New Democracy party (EPP) – voted against setting up a preliminary investigation committee as they concluded that politicians had no criminal responsibilities.

Since then, the victims’ relatives, as well as opposition politicians, have been complaining that the investigation has progressed slowly, claiming that the government wants to sweep the case under the carpet.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis insisted on Wednesday that “only justice will shed light on the case” and expressed his certainty that “those guilty will be punished”.

However, the case has attracted the attention of the EU Prosecutor, who launched an investigation in November 2022, before the accident, into the long-delayed “717 contract” related to upgrading the signalling system on trains and remote control.

Experts agree that the tragic accident could have been avoided if these systems had been in place.

Also read: Greece, EU lost in Babel of train safety deals

Commenting on the train tragedy, Dutch MEP Sophie in ‘t Veld said on Wednesday, “I think we can see how corruption may literally kill”.

The legal case of the “717 contract” was archived by Greek justice authorities when the EU prosecutor started its probe, and in late 2023, the EU Prosecutor launched a criminal prosecution against 23 suspects.

Meanwhile, Euractiv obtained a report drafted by an expert hired by the victims’ relatives.

The document suggests an area of about two acres was filled with gravel and concrete, going against traditional research protocol and meaning the site where the accident occurred was “contaminated”.

“This action makes it difficult for the research and, above all, the taking of samples that might help to clarify several of the research questions”, the document reads.

The report states that the relevant authorities put the materials there, although the purpose and exactly who gave the order remains to be determined.

The wiretapping scandal still unsolved

The discussion over Greece’s rule of law at the EU level started in July 2022, when a wiretapping scandal revealed that the phones of businessmen, journalists, prosecutors, state officers, politicians, government ministers were bugged with notorious Predator spyware.

The case became known after the EU Parliament services established that the phone of MEP and current President of the socialist Pasok party Nikos Androulakis had been targeted with Pretador.

At the same time, it was revealed that Androulakis was under the surveillance of the Greek secret services.

The 92 Predator targets have so far not been correlated to the targets that the Greek secret services had placed under surveillance via their telephone providers.

The government insisted it had not purchased Predator, but it never explained why Androulakis was under “legal” surveillance.

Thanasis Koukakis, a Greek investigative journalist and victim of illegal surveillance, told Euractiv that the investigation by Greek prosecutor’s authorities began in April 2022, but almost 22 months later, it has still not been completed.

Koukakis explained that until October 2023, the inquiry was conducted by three prosecutors of the Athens Court of First Instance.

“However, when those prosecutors asked the competent authority, the Hellenic Authority for Communication Security and Privacy on 20 October 2023, to cross-examine whether 92 confirmed Predator spyware targets were also simultaneously being monitored by the National Intelligence Service, something unexpected occurred”, Koukakis said.

“The Supreme Court prosecutor pulled the case from them, citing a delay in the judicial probe into the affair. Following that, a deputy prosecutor of the Supreme Court was assigned the investigation with the instruction to accelerate it […] 132 days later, the Supreme Court’s deputy prosecutor is still conducting a preliminary inquiry, with no signs of acceleration”, he added.

“If the deputy prosecutor of the Supreme Court will eventually compare the Hellenic Data Protection Authority’s list of 92 Predator targets to the lists of those being monitored by the National Intelligence Service, the ‘common surveillance centre’ will be identified”, Koukakis said.

“Simply put, it will be shown that the National Intelligence Service, which reports directly to Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ office, utilised the Predator to conduct invasive monitoring on persons it had previously targeted with less efficient conventional technology”, Koukakis claimed.

In December 2022, Euractiv reported that ADAE, an independent authority whose function is provided in the Greek constitution, wanted to audit telecommunication company Cosmote.

The audit occurred following requests submitted to the authority by liberal MEP Giorgos Kyrtsos and journalist Tasos Teloglou, who wanted to find out whether they were under surveillance by the secret services.

The then Greece’s Prosecutor of the Supreme Court, Isidoros Dogiakos, allegedly attempted to block the control, saying it was illegal, while the representatives of ADAE reacted by invoking their constitutional authority and insisted on the audit.

Read more: Another MEP and journalist the latest victims of ‘Greek Watergate’

Following Euractiv’s publication, ADAE confirmed the incident and insisted that it continue its efforts to shed light on the case as the country’s constitution suggests. For his part, Dogiakos said he did not block but expressed a legal opinion.

In a recent resolution adopted by the European Parliament, EU lawmakers said ADAE, as well as the Greek Data Protection Authority (DPA), are “under increasing pressure” owing to their work concerning the Greek intelligence’s (EYP) “illegitimate wiretapping”.

“The Greek Parliament suddenly replaced the ADAE’s board members in 2023 on the eve of the ADAE’s decision to impose a fine on the EYP, and just before the ADAE and the DPA called for a crucial step to be taken in the investigation into the spyware scandal”, the resolution reads.

Meanwhile, the EU Prosecutor and the European Commission also intervened in this case.

Read more: EU Prosecutor probes Greek ‘Predatorgate’

Notably, the EU Prosecutor investigated complaints about “enormous tax evasion” by the companies involved in the surveillance scandal.

The EU Commission, through its Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis, asked the Greek government on 10 January 2023 for information on exports of cyber surveillance items to Madagascar and Sudan after inquiries revealed that such transactions occurred through the Greek foreign affairs ministry. The EU Commission has so far received nothing from Athens.

Press freedom at crossroads

Another rule of law issue that has drawn the attention of the EU is the media situation in Athens.

In an interview with Euractiv.cz in late 2021, EU Commission Vice-President Věra Jourová admitted for the first time that Greece is considered a “problematic country” regarding media issues.

According to the Reporters Without Borders press index, Greece is the worst EU country regarding media freedom, ranking 107th out of 180 countries.

The 2023 European Commission’s Rule of Law regarding Greece’s media landscape states that “threats and attacks against journalists remain an issue”.

A critical issue is abusive lawsuits against journalists, the so-called “SLAPPs”, especially against media outlets and journalists who reported about the wiretapping scandal.

The latest case was against the publisher of Documento Kostas Vaxevanis, who strongly criticises the centre-right government.

Speaking to Euractiv, Vaxevanis, who has survived over 100 SLAPPs, said the government’s attacks against his journal “represent a practice against the rule of law”.

“After they excluded us from the advertisement, after they run over 80 SLAPPS, after the PM himself called me a criminal in the parliament, they proceeded to the last act of extermination: tax audit”, Vaxevanis said.

According to the publisher, the authorities conducted a tax audit three times and found nothing.

“After they found no evidence, they fabricated and imposed a €235,000 fine. We have resorted to the Greek public prosecutor’s office and the European public prosecutor since the tax mechanisms use European funds for illegal actions, ” Vaxevanis warned.

Contacted by Euractiv on this case, a European Commission spokesperson reiterated the elements of the 2023 Rule of Law report.

In the report, the EU official said, “We recommend to Greece to take forward the process of adopting non-legislative safeguards and start the legislative process about the protection of journalists […] in particular as regards abusive lawsuits against journalists and their safety, in line with the adopted Memorandum of Understanding and taking into account European standards on the protection of journalists.”

Government rejects all allegations

The Greek government firmly denies the allegations.

Referring to the EU Parliament resolution, Mitsotakis recently said in an interview with Star TV channel that when one reads it, it is like “we are talking about another country”.

The Greek leader noted that no EU lawmaker has the right to intervene in the justice system and rejected any allegations about a lack of press freedom.

“On the contrary […] Everyone says and writes what they want, and of course, if someone feels that he has been offended in some way or that some inaccuracy has been written, he has great difficulty asserting it”, Mitsotakis said.

The Greek leader also urged EU policymakers to “think a little” and stop “shooting ourselves in the foot”.

“The problem is elsewhere. Greece is not the problem of the rule of law in Europe”, he noted.

Mitsotakis added that a few days after this resolution was voted, The Economist upgraded Greece to “full democracy”.

“They gave us a better degree of democratic functioning than many other European countries, such as Spain or Portugal”, Mitsotakis said.

Moreover, Greece’s Supreme Court also reacted, rejecting the outcome of the EU Parliament’s resolution.

Last but not least, Mitsotakis was one of the EPP leaders who signed a letter to suspend Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party from the EU centre-right ranks, due to rule of law breaches.

(Sarantis Michalopoulos – Edited by Alice Taylor | Euractiv.com)