Judges clash with police

A clash has broken out between Public Order minister Nikos Dendias and the Union of Judges and Prosecutors with announcements and insinuations.

It all started with what Dendias said in an interview in a Sunday newspaper about the handlings of a judicial officer in a terrorist case. The Union of Judges and Prosecutors (EDE) responded to Dendias' innuendo with the detention of the two recent arrestees for their involvement in the organization Conspiracy of the Cores of Fire.

The EDE announcement is as follows: "Politicians in general, and especially if they are members of the Government as well, must be very careful and restrained when referring to the operations or decisions of magistrates. Statements that endorse or disapprove of court judgments, whether they are palatable or not, should be avoided. Even more so, they should avoid degrading statements about judicial functionaries such as the recent statement by the minister of Public Order against the Judge who, as a special investigator, handles cases of terrorism. His handlings until today have demonstrated that he has the moral stature and courage required, and he carries out with integrity the very onerous and dangerous tasks he has undertaken. It should be noted that such statements and interventions in the work of Justice bring about a loss of public confidence in the independence of Judges and a deal blow to the rule of law and the proper functioning of democracy."

The ministry of Public Order did not leave this announcement unremarked upon, and went one step further. "All those judging will be judged. The truth is that not only terrorists, but also people accused of all kinds of crimes escape any legal consequences today because of omissions by a minority of magistrates. Unfortunately these issues have not raised any awareness in the Union of Judges and Prosecutors, to our knowledge. Moreover, the Public Order minister stated in his interview that he is not against the majority of judicial officers, but is referring to specific cases that have caused the reasonable questions of the media, public opinion and every thinking person in Greece, including many judges. The administration of Justice indeed requires a sense of duty. But it must be proven in practice and not through the announcements of judicial organizations."