NEWS

Academics condemn lawsuit by top judge

Academics condemn lawsuit by top judge

Greek academics have lashed out at a decision by Supreme Court President Vassiliki Thanou to launch legal action against Stavros Tsakyrakis, a professor of constitutional law, for a blog post published last year that criticized her decision to write to her counterparts in other European countries to explain the reasoning behind the “no” vote in the country’s bailout referendum.

In his blog post, Tsakyrakis called Thanou “naive” and accused her of engaging in politicking.

“As professors of constitutional law, we fail to see how a judicial official – in fact a top judge – can possibly deem that making criticism of a public figure constitutes an offense,” said a statement signed by 18 academics from Athens and Thessaloniki on Thursday.

They expressed solidarity with Tsakyrakis, adding that the top judge should reconsider her “legally unfounded” and “morally reprehensible” decision.

In a separate statement, the coordinating committee of Greek bar associations condemned the lawsuit, saying that it “questions undisputed rights such as the freedom of expression and the right to criticize public officials.”

Thanou claims that the professor’s article brought the position of Supreme Court president into disrepute.

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