Politico for Greece: The country that lets people escape Justice – Marinakis: They slander us abroad

Article “ass” of “condemns” impunity in Greece on the occasion of the , the wreck of Pylos and the interceptions, entitled “Greece, the country that allows people to escape justice”. His article begins with the finding that “in the country famous for the invention of democracy, there is a sense that [democracy] is exfoliating” and touches extensively on the issue of the obstruction and diminution of Greek justice, referring to coverts, incomplete investigations and a more general “atmosphere of immunity” on the occasion of Tempes, the wreck of Pylos and interceptions. Then there is a brief presentation of “a series of scandals” that “although everything is very different” as the media notes, “they add the feeling that justice collapses – and that those in power do not want to correct it. Or worse, they are guilty.” He writes Politico: “Greece has experienced a series of scandals that, although different, enhance the feeling that Justice is falling apart and that those in power do not want to correct it. Even worse, they are responsible for this situation.” Citizen’s Counsel, Andreas Pottakis, who spoke to the European media, says that “there is a sense of systematic and coordinated effort to degrade certain incidents” and stresses that this breeds “suspects of attempted cover-up” and negligence that “could include political leadership.” “Three huge cases have tried the country’s faith in its judicial structures in recent years. Two of them are related to disasters: The Tembi accident that killed 57 people and the Pylos wreck off the coast of the Peloponnese last summer that left hundreds of migrants from Asia and Africa drowning. The third case concerns the wiretap case, continues the report. Last week, a high court prosecutor cleared the country’s politicians, police, and intelligence services of offences. In themselves these may indicate as isolated incidents that each government could face, as handling it raises worrying questions. Opposition parties, victims’ representatives and independent investigators speak of cover-ups and denounce that critical testimonies have been ruled out, legal documents have been ignored and victims have been put aside. Parliamentary investigations have only managed to cloud the waters.” “With the illusion of functional democracy, with parliamentary committees that cannot do their job effectively, what is actually happening sometimes is direct political engagement and the elimination of independent observers,” notes Vassilis Panagiotopoulos, a member of the Reporters Without Borders. The report notes that Greeks feel that public standards have been eroded and thus verbal attacks on journalists by high-ranking politicians have become daily, independent authorities are undermined, there have been serious complaints of re-promotion, police violence is increasing and civil society and media pluralism are threatened. According to a survey carried out by the Eteron Institute for the 50 years of Metapolitization only 29% say they trust Justice. Kyriakos Mitsotakis himself, with an interview with Politico, defended his government by noting “I always thought we should have confidence in the Greek system of Justice”. Marinakis for Politico: Nothing to do with reality what is written “Right of every journalist to do his own research. But when what is written has nothing to do with reality, it was Paul Marinakis’ response to the Poltico report when informing political editors. “The truth is 180 degrees contrary to reality. The aim of the report is to slander the country abroad,” he said and continued: “ Greece has independent justice. On the issue of Tempes justice conducts one of the most critical investigations at a rapid pace. Targeting the men and women of the port is offensive to the work they do and risk their lives.”