CASE GRE 070819
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
Judicial Harassment
The International Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT),
requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Greece.
Description of the situation:
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Greek Helsinki Monitor (GHM) about the ongoing judicial harassment against Mr. Panayote Dimitras, GHM Spokesperson and a member of OMCT's General Assembly.
According to the information received, Mr. Panayote Dimitras is facing accusations of embezzlement and concealment of facts in two different cases of judicial harassment.
In the first case of judicial harassment Mr. Dimitras has been referred to trial for embezzlement/illicit appropriation. The trial has been postponed twice and is currently scheduled for September 16, 2019, before the 10th Single-Judge Misdemeanors Court of Athens. The accusation against him is related to two cases[1] against Greece before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) which were supported by the GHM in accordance with the terms and conditions of a power of attorney signed between Spyridon Panagioteas and Panayote Dimitras.
The prosecutor’s accusation charges Mr. Panayote Dimitras with having illicitly appropriated in May 2016 the compensations awarded by the ECtHR judgments of October 4, 2016, and April 7, 2016. However, in May 2016, the first compensation was manifestly not yet awarded, while the second compensation had not been debited at that time to the GHM bank account as established in the power of attorney.
According to the same information, the judicial process so far has lacked the minimum national and international standards of fair trial and due process.
First, there is a violation of the ne bis in idem principle, since another case file based on the same allegations by Mr. Panagioteas through two other letters dated February 20 and 21, 2018, had already been archived on April 15, 2018, following a preliminary investigation. The investigation had concluded that Panayote Dimitras did not appropriate illicitly the compensations awarded by the ECtHR following the applications submitted on behalf of the plaintiff, as the sums were deposited on the basis of a legal power of attorney in the NGO account and on the basis of the 456/2017 judgment of the Magistrate Court of Athens according to which there is a provisional seizure of all assets of the plaintiff up to 20,000 euros. When the prosecutor decided to refer Mr. Dimitras to trial on July 30, 2018, she was aware of these decisions that had been submitted by Mr. Dimitras.
Secondly, the request by Mr. Panayote Dimitras to be allowed to make a statement during the preliminary investigation in this case to be able to react to Mr. Panagioteas's allegations was rejected by the prosecutor.
Finally, despite the allegations of forgery of documents that was brought forward by the claimant, who argued the agreement to use GHM's account to receive any potential compensation was not part of the power of attorney he had signed, the prosecutor’s office did not come up with forgery accusations against Mr. Panayote Dimitras, but decided to accuse him of embezzlement.
The second case[2] of judicial harassment against Mr. Panayote Dimitras also relates to his human rights activities. In one of the cases on racist incidents on which GHM filed a complaint, there was reference to an investigative article, which was available in the public domain[3]. On the basis of this publication, on February 2, 2018, the Naval Court Prosecutor asked the Athens First Instance Prosecutor to file a complaint for disobedience against Mr. Panayote Dimitras, accusing him of concealment of facts, due to the fact that he had not provided detailed information on the case. It is worth noting that Mr. Panayote Dimitras had repeatedly stated that there was no further detailed information in his possession apart from the investigative article. However, the request by the Naval Court Prosecutor became a basis for initiating a preliminary investigation, which is now pending for evaluation of the Athens’ First Instance Prosecutor.
The International Secretariat of OMCT recalls that this not the first time that ungrounded cases are being brought against Mr. Panayote Dimitras, recalling the case of alleged perjury in 2014, which was later dropped[4].
The International Secretariat of OMCT highlights that the situation of human rights defenders in Greece has been critical for years. Human rights defenders are consistently targeted for their legitimate work and face different types of attacks, surveillance, arbitrary arrests, detentions, ill-treatment, entry bans and expulsion[5].
The International Secretariat of OMCT expresses its deep concern for the judicial harassment against Mr. Panayote Dimitras and for the violations to his right to due process and urges the Greek authorities to conduct an impartial and transparent investigation into the above-mentioned cases with a respect of due process.
Actions requested:
Please write to the authorities of Greece asking them to:
i. Put an end to any kind of harassment - including at the judicial level - against Mr. Panayote Dimitras and more generally against all human rights defenders in Greece;
ii. In the meantime, guarantee Mr. Panayoe Dimitras’ right to due process and fair trial, as protected under international law;
iii. Comply with all the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 9, 1998, in particular with its Articles 12(2) and 13;
iv. Ensure in all circumstances the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and with international human rights instruments ratified by Greece.
Addresses:
· Prime Minister of Greece, Mr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Email: mail@primeminister.gr
· Minister of Justice Mr. Konstantinos Tsiaras Email: grammateia@justice.gov.gr
· General Secretary for Justice and Human Rights, Mr. Panos Alexandis Email: ggdad@justice.gov.gr
· Permanent Representative of Greece, Ms Anna Korka, Permanent Mission of Greece to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Fax: +41 22 732 21 50; Email: grdel.gva@mfa.gr
· Ambassador of Greece, H.E. Eleftheria Galathianaki, Embassy of Greece in Brussels, Belgium, Fax: (+32) 2 545 5585, Email: gremb.bru@mfa.gr
·
Permanent
Representative of Greece, H.E. Andreas Papastavrou, Permanent Representation to
the European Union (EU), Fax: +32 2 5515651, 5127912
Email: mea.bruxelles@rp-greece.be
Please also write to the diplomatic representations of Greece in your respective countries.
***
Geneva – Brussels, August 7, 2019
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Created in 1985, the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) is the main coalition of nongovernmental organisations (NGO) fighting against torture, summary executions, enforced disappearances and all other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, as well as for the protection of human rights defenders. With more than 200 affiliated organisations in its SOS-Torture Network, OMCT aims at accompanying, reinforcing and protecting anti-torture organisations in particular in erosive environments and provides a comprehensive system of support and protection for human rights defenders around the world.
[1] Panagioteas vs Greece Application No. 36672/12 and Kyraikou and Panagioteas vs Greece Application No. 34828/10 and 11674/11. Both cases concerned excessive length of legal proceedings involving Panagioteas.
[2] The case described the shooting of a migrant vessel, which was approaching the border guard patrol ship. As a result, several people were badly wounded. It is described as an unprovoked attack and a use of excessive force by the border guards. The details of the investigation of the mentioned case also revealed the deep-rooted issues of concealing the facts of violence and use of force by the border guards and despite the investigation being initiated, later on the case was closed and no border guard was pleaded guilty.
[3] The Intercept, SHOOT FIRST Coast Guard Fired at Migrant Boats, European Border Agency Documents Show, Published on August 22, 2016. Available here: https://theintercept.com/2016/08/22/coast-guard-fired-at-migrant-boats-european-border-agency-documents-show/
[4] See OMCT Urgent Appeal, Greece: Ongoing judicial harassment against human rights defender Mr. Panayote Dimitras, Available here: http://www.omct.org/human-rights-defenders/urgent-interventions/greece/2014/01/d22535/
[5] See OMCT’s Written Submission to the 35th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council on the situation of minority rights defenders in Greece of May 25, 2017.
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