On February 15, Greece became the first Orthodox Christian country to approve equal marriage.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis thus reaffirmed his intention to occupy the political center and abandon the label of “conservative” to be recognized as “liberal”, overcoming the reluctance shown by sectors of his own party.
But that flash of modernity has been clouded by a vote in which the European Parliament “raises the alarm” in the face of several “threats to the rule of law.”
The Mitsotakis Executive has, after five years in power, a long history of complaints related to the separation of powers, freedom of the press, police violence, mistreatment of migrants and espionage on politicians, soldiers and journalists.
The European Parliament has taken note of them and on February 7, Parliament adopted a resolution, approved by 330 votes in favor, 254 against and 26 abstentions, in which the MEPs expressed their "deep concern about the very serious threats that weigh on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights” in Greece.
Dutch MEP Sophie in't Veld, from the Renew Europe Group, expressed her opinion on the equal marriage law during a telephone conversation: “Of course, I welcome that rule.
But it seems more like a policy of distraction that will not work, because society will not forget all the cases of corruption that exist in the country.
Just one year ago, on February 28, a train accident occurred where 57 people died.
“That case showed the corruption of the railway sector.”
When In't Veld is reminded that just four months after the accident Mitsotakis revalidated his mandate in the general elections, the MEP responds: “He won with 40% of the votes, which in the Greek electoral system gives him an absolute majority. .
And she did it with a divided opposition.
But I don't buy the argument that by winning a general election she is entitled to everything.
A democracy is not only a regime where whoever gets the most votes governs, but where the rule of law is respected, everyone is equal before the law and everyone has to answer for their actions before justice.
The MEP points out that the Supreme Court of Greece has condemned the European Parliament's resolution expressing concern about the state of democracy in the country.
“I have not seen that before in any supreme court of any member country.
Not even from Hungary,” she maintains.
Mitsotakis' party, New Democracy, declared in the European Parliament that the criticism does not respond to a genuine interest in civil liberties, but to a political agenda.
This newspaper has contacted the Prime Minister's Cabinet and the New Democracy delegation in the European Parliament, but both have declined to comment.
Behind the EU in press freedom
Among the issues addressed by European parliamentarians is freedom of the press.
Greece is ranked 107th (out of a total of 180 countries) in the World Press Freedom Index compiled each year by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
In 2022 it fell 38 positions, after the murder of the journalist specialized in criminal investigation Giorgos Karaivaz in 2021, in circumstances not yet clarified.
RSF rates Greece with a “terrible score” of 55.2 points, the worst country in the European Union, behind Hungary (62.96 points), Bulgaria (62.98 points) and Poland (67.66 points). .
The main reasons for this result are three: the “gag trials”, that is, the trials against journalists who investigate matters related to corruption, the fact that Karaivaz's murder has not been solved and the telephone hacking scandal that revealed that the National Intelligence Service (EYP) spied on journalists, as well as politicians and the military.
A police officer chases a protester during a protest called by squatter groups in Athens, December 8, 2023. Hibai Arbide Aza
Beyond the numbers, scenes of violence are recurrent in the demonstrations.
Even against the reporters who cover them.
On December 6, the police beat about twenty journalists who were covering a demonstration in the Athenian neighborhood of Exarjia.
Two unions of photojournalists denounced that the attacks occurred at different times by different agents, without higher commands intervening to prevent them.
In one of the episodes, after receiving several blows and a kick, a journalist shouted “I'm a reporter!”, while he showed his camera, to which the police officer responded: “That's why.”
Stavros Malichudis is a journalist specialized in investigations related to immigration and irregular police actions.
In July 2022, a parliamentary investigation into the eavesdropping of opposition political leaders revealed that both Malichudis's phone and that of journalist Thanasis Koukakis were being monitored with Predator
software
.
The espionage of which he was subjected still conditions Malichudis' daily life.
“I'm much more hesitant to contact sources because I don't want to put them in the spotlight with my work, especially those that are confidential,” he explains.
“First and foremost, our duty is to protect the sources,” he recalls.
His private life also suffered after the revelation.
“Not only are they spying on you, but someone also breaks into the lives of your close circle.”
For Malichudis, the worst thing is the normalization of espionage.
“It is so common that older colleagues, especially, accept it as a natural phenomenon.”
In the aforementioned resolution, the European Parliament also spoke out on violence against migrants and refugees.
Since Mitsotakis governs, hot returns have become common practice in the islands and the Aegean Sea.
Although the prime minister has always denied its existence, international organizations such as UNHCR or the Frontex Fundamental Rights Office (OFD), journalistic investigations and the testimony of hundreds of migrants affirm that this is a daily reality.
Many migrants have denounced that sudden returns are carried out with enormous violence, with the aim of discouraging new attempts.
Haroum, an Afghan refugee who reached the island of Lesvos after four attempts, claims that, after receiving a beating, a Greek coast guard agent told him while setting him adrift in Turkish waters: “if you come back, it will be worse.”
On occasions, these actions by the Greek police have even involved torture resulting in the death of migrants.
Frontex's OFD accused Greece of serious negligence in the
Adriana
sinking in June 2023, in which more than 500 people trying to reach Europe died.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, during a press conference in Athens, on February 27, 2023.Costas Baltas (Anadolu/ Getty Images)
Last January, six organizations of journalists, lawyers and civil rights defenders, including the Helen League for Human Rights, sent the European Commission a detailed report entitled
Greece in institutional decline
on the administration of justice, the fight against corruption, freedom of the press and information pluralism.
In it they warn that mistreatment is not only directed against the migrant population.
“Incidents of violence and police arbitrariness are a frequent and increasingly common phenomenon in Greece,” they explain.
But neither the condemnation of the European Parliament, nor the police scandals, nor even a massive general strike on February 28 seem to make a dent in New Democracy's expectation of voting.
Polls indicate a 20 percentage point difference with respect to the opposition parties.
Mitsotakis's popularity, at least for now, seems unbeatable.
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