European committee slams Greece for state of rights in country

There are serious risks to rule of law, fundamental rights in Greece, argues Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs ommittee

By Ahmet Gencturk
8.03.2023

A European Parliament (EP) committee slammed Greece on Wednesday for the state of human rights in the country, which it said is worsening.

“We came to Athens continuing as part of its mission to protect the freedom of the press and the media, to examine immigration policies, human rights, and equal treatment issues,” said Sophie In’t Feld, a member of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE), during a news conference after a three-day visit to Greece.

“We were also here to review the matters related to the use of spyware, the state of rule of law, and the fight against corruption,” she said.

After thanking everyone who cooperated with the committee during the visit, Feld said: “We regret that Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, ministers, representatives of the police, Supreme Court Prosecutor Isidoros Dogiakos and other officials were not available.”

Arguing that the accountability process is under strain and freedom of independent authorities and media is limited, the judiciary is slow and ineffective, she said there are very serious risks posing a threat to the rule of law and fundamental rights in the country.

“The treatment of refugees both at the external borders and inside Greece, including pushbacks, violence, illegal detention and theft of assets as has been reported, causes great concern,” Feld added.​​​​​​​

We remind our readers that publication of articles on our site does not mean that we agree with what is written. Our policy is to publish anything which we consider of interest, so as to assist our readers  in forming their opinions. Sometimes we even publish articles with which we totally disagree, since we believe it is important for our readers to be informed on as wide a spectrum of views as possible.