Polakis claim of corrupt judges meets with ire
The disparaging claim made earlier this week by Alternate Health Minister Pavlos Polakis that most judges are corrupt has drawn a vehement response from the Union of Greek Judges and Prosecutors while Supreme Court prosecutor Efterpi Koutzamani has ordered a preliminary investigation.
“The judges and prosecutors of this country… will no longer tolerate such libelous statements,” the union said in an announcement Friday. “We ask for the president of the republic… to take a position.”
It added that Polakis must either withdraw his comments or “name any oathbreaking judges he may know of.”
Polakis appeared unfazed Friday and stood by his claims, saying he is at the disposal of the investigation, and dismissed the uproar over his comments as part of what he called ongoing attacks launched against the government by the media and the opposition. He clarified however that his allegations did not target honest and hardworking judges.
Speaking in Parliament Friday, Justice Minister Nikos Paraskevopoulos sought to defuse tensions, saying that Polakis had no intention of blemishing the reputation of judges but did not say if he backed the allegations.
