Left Alliance: "Serious concerns" over Giopoulos return to prison
The Left Alliance expresses strong objections to the Supreme Court decision that returned the 82-year-old Giopoulos to prison after 24 years in custody.
Left Alliance denounces Supreme Court decision on Giopoulos
The Left Alliance expresses serious concerns about the decision of the 5th Criminal Division of the Supreme Court, which returned Alexandros Giopoulos to prison, according to an announcement reported by ERT.
According to the party, the Division "exhausted the limits of its severity" towards the 82-year-old convicted prisoner, who remains imprisoned for 24 consecutive years. The Division followed the recommendation of the Deputy Prosecutor of the Supreme Court, ruling amongst other things that good conduct does not constitute "moral transformation". In parallel, the decision was based on amendments introduced by New Democracy to the Penal Code in 2021, which moved in a stricter direction.
The Left Alliance points out that the decision was issued following three weeks of intense public pressure. According to the announcement, a "crusade" was mounted by commentators that extended "from within the government to the far right", with demands ranging from strict measures of confinement to the reintroduction of capital punishment. The party argues that "it thus gives the impression that justice officials have yielded to the demands of reactionary forces".
In closing its announcement, the Left Alliance emphasises that "democracy does not take revenge" and calls for the slide "towards penal populism, which flattens rights and diminishes the Rule of Law" not to continue.
Source: ERT