The destruction of a CD containing content from the mobile phone of murdered journalist Giorgos Karaivaz is assuming political dimensions, with Nasos Iliopoulos of the New Left party launching a scathing attack against the government on Wednesday, during a debate in Greece’s Parliament.
“When this state cannot ensure that a CD containing conversations between a murdered journalist and the former director of Prime Minister (Kyriakos) Mitsotakis’ office— because that’s who Mr. (Grigoris) Dimitriadis is, though we’ve forgotten his name and anyone who mentions it gets taken to court—along with the head of EYP (the national intelligence service),” proves that the government does not want to tackle organized crime, Iliopoulos said.
The New Left party is asking specific questions about the case, such as whether the individuals in question have been called to testify about the content of their conversations with the assassinated journalist, and whether an investigation has been ordered into the circumstances in which the material was destroyed.
“In a country where the rule of law is in retreat, the answers to these questions are imperative,” he stressed.
During court proceedings a day earlier, on Tuesday, against two suspects on trial for the murder of Karaivaz, while the court was listing the documents submitted as evidence for consideration, exhibit number 33 was read out, which contained contacts and conversations from the WhatsApp app on Karaivaz’s cellphone.
The bench read from the evidence report that the contacts included the names of the former director of the Prime Minister’s office, Grigoris Dimitriadis; the former head of the National Intelligence Service (EYP), Panagiotis Kontoleon, and the former chief of the Greek Police, Michalis Karamalakis.
However, once these details had been read out, the prosecutor rushed to inform the court that the CD with the content had been accidentally destroyed when it was punctured by a stapler. What’s more, according to information received, the contents had not been transcribed to a written document (which is the form in which the evidence would have been presented in court) and no copy had been requested by the bench.
Iliopoulos: The country has surrendered to organized crime
The press spokesman for the New Left party and it deputy for Athens, Nasos Iliopoulos, addressed the serious incident on Wednesday from the standing committee on educational affairs, and during a debate on a draft law presented by the ministry of education.
As Iliopoulos said, “We are in a country where yesterday, in the Karaivaz trial, the trial of people suspected of involvement in the assassination of a journalist, a trial which all of Europe is following, the court said that ‘the CD that contained conversations between the journalist and Dimitriadis and the head of EYP was destroyed’.”
He went on to add: “That’s why you won’t do anything, because you don’t want to take on organized crime. It’s not something you have done personally, but it is a structural feature of the government of which you are a part.”
He railed against Dimitriadis, noting that “this State cannot keep safe a CD containing conversations between a murdered journalist and the former director of Prime Minister Mitsotakis’ office—because that’s who Mr. Dimitriadis is, though we’ve forgotten his name and anyone who mentions it gets taken to court—along with the head of EYP.”
In conclusion, the New Left MP noted that “this country has surrendered to organized crime. And so I say to you, don’t bother with laws and legal provisions. It’s a waste of time and effort, for the organs of state and for you yourselves.”
Crucial questions must be answered
At the same time, the New Left party issued a statement on the incident, tabling questions that demand answers. As it says:
“Serious questions are raised by the revelation, in the trial, of suspects in the murder of the journalist George Karaivaz, that material containing conversations he had with senior officials has been destroyed.”
It goes on to stress that “the court read that this material contained communications between George Karaivaz and the former director of the Prime Minister’s office, Grigoris Dimitriadis; the former head of the National Intelligence Service, Panagiotis Kontoleon and the former chief of the Greek Police, Michalis Karamalakis. And that the material was destroyed because the CD on which it was stored was punctured by a stapler!”
New Left asks these three reasonable and specific questions and demands immediate answers:
“-When did the authorities become aware of the destruction of the material? – Have these persons been called to testify about the content of their conversations with the murdered journalist? – Has an investigation been ordered into the circumstances in which the material in question was destroyed?”
The press release ends by stating: “In a country where the rule of law is in retreat, the answers to these questions are of paramount importance.”
