A court decision to release without restrictions three suspects of a rape case on the island of Mykonos has triggered sharp criticism and a joint statement of Greece’s Supreme Court and the Chief Prosecutor’s office. The suspects, all Pakistani nationals, are at risk to leave the country.
The three men who were accused of raping a 23-year-old tourist on the island of Mykonos were released on Tuesday without restrictive conditions.
The decision for their release was reportedly taken after the analysis of evidence showed that the sexual intercourse occurred with the consent of the plaintiff, state-run news agency amna.gr reported
The 23-year-old ivctim had filed a complaint claiming that in the early hours of June 30, she was raped by three men, while she was on vacation in Mykonos.
The three men, Pakistani nationals, were identified and brought to the Mykonos Police Department, where they acknowledged having sex with her.
A case was filed against them and they were turned over to the Syros district attorney and then released without restrictive conditions.
In its report, the news agency said, citing prosecutorial information, that after the examination of video evidence it was concluded “that all the sexual acts recorded were done with the absolute consent of the 23-year-old, with no evidence of rape.”
The Supreme Court spokesman denounced “the very frequent, unfortunately, and definitely illegal tactic of selective leaks of the case file contents, especially those in the preliminary investigation state as in this case, and the promotion as facts of true incidents – which are not however part of the case file -, resulting in misinformation and the creation of impressions in public opinion.
“This tactic is obviously aiming at creating a sense of insecurity among citizens, insulting the effectiveness of Greek justice and, consequently, discrediting Greece.”
Instead, the Supreme Court said, it would advise those self-made ‘judges’ and ‘prosecutors’ “to accept the basic principles of the rule of law and especially to recognize that the only ones competent to exercise judgment – according to the constitution and the laws – are judges and prosecutors of Greece.”
The statement was signed by Supreme Court judge Panagiotis Lymberopoulos and deputy prosecutor Konstantinos Tzavellas, news agency amna.gr reported.
