His report casts a shadow over the otherwise good Greek-American relationship State Department for the condition of of human rights in Hellas in 2023 where, among other things, there is a reference to allegations of mistreatment of immigrants and asylum seekers, its members LGBTQI+ community but also in the previous year’s complaints regarding the case of wiretapping. The reaction of Athens was quite strong as, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “the report records, without further investigation, allegations by non-governmental organizations that are not independently audited.” While the annoyance of Athens can also be seen from the remark that “particularly important for the integrity, reliability and objectivity of the report is the fact that the opinion of the Greek state was not sought in relation to the mentioned issues”. From Ministry of Foreign Affairs there is talk of “indiscriminate recording”, resulting in “serious human rights issues” appearing in all reports on developed nations. While it is underlined that “although the progress in relation to the protection of rights in Greece is recognized on many levels, the report overlooks or completely ignores regulatory interventions and national strategies of recent years to ensure the rights of vulnerable categories of citizens, such as PWDs, LGBTI and unaccompanied minors”.
“NGO complaints are recorded, without further investigation, for which no independent audit is carried out,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasizes.
The State Department’s report emphasizes right from the start that “there have been no significant changes in the human rights situation in Greece over the past year”, however it is noted that in 2024 there were “credible reports of: cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment of prisoners in prison and of immigrants and asylum seekers by law enforcement, crimes involving violence targeting members of national, racial or ethnic minorities; and crimes involving violence or threats of violence targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or intersex persons” . Although the report acknowledges that “the government regularly took steps to investigate, prosecute, and punish officials who committed human rights violations, whether in the security forces or elsewhere in the government,” it states, among other things, that there were complaints from NGOs and international organizations “about the government’s failure to effectively investigate allegations of forced returns of asylum seekers and hold those responsible to account.”
On the offenses for the migratory there is a reference to the arrest of four police officers for torture by the Ministry of Citizen Protection, reports on abuse of immigrants in Evros and the islands (El Pais, New York Times, NGO Border Violence Monitoring Network) and push backs on the high seas. The report includes an extensive reference to his case fishing boat “Andriana”, which sank last year in June several miles off the Greek coast (the so-called Pylos incident) with an undetermined number of victims (estimated at around 600). Among other things, the lawsuit filed by 40 survivors, alleging that the Coast Guard pushed the ship away from Greek territorial waters, is cited as an element of documentation. There is also reference to NGO complaints, but also to the public law organization “Organization for the Care and Rehabilitation of Israelis of Greece”, which complains that 100 properties that belonged to Jews before World War II are still being used by the Greek State. Reference is also made to incidents of anti-Semitism, such as the vandalism of Holocaust monuments. However, the cooperation of the EYP and Mossad to prevent attacks organized by a terrorist network against the Jewish community is also noted.
There is also an extensive reference in wiretapping case, with references to the reports of the competent committee of the European Parliament. In addition, Artemis Sifford is mentioned by name, who as a dual citizen (Greek and American), had reported (New York Times) that the EYP monitored her between September and November 2021. The report notes that freedom of expression is protected, however reference is also made to a Reporters Without Borders report on “concerns about alleged surveillance of journalists by intelligence agencies and through Predator, concentration of media ownership, government control of public media, violence against journalists, particularly those covering protests and immigration”.
Fire from the opposition parties
Heavy fire against the government was launched by the opposition parties on the occasion of the report of the State Department. THE Stefanos Kasselakis linked the report to the two-month ago European Parliament resolution on the rule of law in Greece. “Why do so many countries and leaders of such different hues want to hurt – all of them! – the “successful” prime minister? Is something seriously wrong in our country? So wrong that the international community can no longer turn a blind eye? Should Kyriakos Mitsotakis leave the conspiracy theories and look in the mirror?” said the president of SYRIZA in his post on X and added: “As for us, fifty years after the restoration of Democracy in the country where it was born, we have a duty to stop the institutional decline.”
In a joint statement, the Pavlos Christidis, head of PASOK’s Human Rights section, and Dimitris Mantzos, head of PASOK’s Foreign Affairs section. “It repeats what has already been recorded by independent organizations of supranational scope. Especially what he describes about the issues of wiretapping and the rule of law, are a stigma for the Greek government. Therefore, N.D. it must stop pretending to be the victim of international conspiracies and deal with the solution of the problems it itself created”, they add.
THE Greek solution in her statement she speaks of “the State Department’s slap in the face of the rule of law, surveillance and corruption”.
