Former EU Migration Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos against whom an arrest warrant over the QuatarGate has been issued by Belgian prosecutors accused Citizen Protection Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis claiming the latter kept the arrest warrant in his drawer for 2 to 3 days.
The European arrest warrant issued by the Belgian authorities against Dimitris Avramopoulos, in the context of the Qatargate investigation, was transmitted to Parliament yesterday, Tuesday. The warrant has not been executed, as the condition for its implementation is the lifting of the parliamentary immunity of the former minister and former EU Commissioner.
Avramopoulos denies the charges, calling them a “fuss”. In statements to Skai TV on Wednesday, he claimed that “this whole story is a fuss. From what I learn, the police officers who did not do their job well are being checked and opened their investigation, ignoring that this case had been investigated two years ago”.
“I am not afraid of anything” he noted and stressed that “the arrest warrant is invalid”.
At the same time, he pointed out that “Michalis Chrysochoidis had the request of the Belgian police in his drawer for 2 to 3 days”.
Sources from the Ministry for Citizen Protection rejected Avramopoulos claims telling media that “no citizen receives preferential treatment”
“The Greek authorities always operate with respect and dedication to the Constitution and Greek and European Legislation. The competent Prosecutor’s Office in Greece for matters of the SIRENE Department (Supplementary Information Request at the National Entries) is subordinate to the Athens Appeals Prosecutor’s Office, which manages European arrest warrants and the transmission of judicial information through the Schengen Information System (SIS)”, sources from the Ministry of Citizen Protection told media.
“The European arrest warrant was transmitted within 24 hours to the competent Athens Appeals Prosecutor for further actions, while the Greek Police acted as in any corresponding case for the implementation of a European arrest warrant. No citizen receives preferential treatment.”
PS On their part, skeptics on social media claim that the conservative Greek government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis was seeking to gain time and see how to deal with the new crisis – see: scandal – in which a high-ranking member of New Democracy is involved.
