ECHR rules against Greece in case involving former minister
The European Court of Human Rights has unanimously ruled that the Greek Parliament’s refusal to lift the immunity of Panos Kammenos, when he was defense minister in 2018, “directly hindered” the right of foreign minister Dora Bakoyannis to a fair trial in defamation proceedings she brought against him.
In a ruling published Tuesday, the court said they case represented a “violation of … the European Convention on Human Rights.”
The case concerned Bakoyannis’ complaint that in 2018 she had not been able to follow through with a criminal complaint against the then defense minister and Independent Greeks leader, Panos Kammenos, for defamation because MPs had refused to lift his immunity.
Bakoyannis, who is a sister of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and mother of Athens Mayor Kostas Bakoyannis, lodged a complaint against the minister after he had posted a tweet criticizing her attending the inauguration ceremony of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The court found that the refusal to lift the immunity of the minister had directly hindered Bakoyannis’ access to a court and therefore her ability to protect her reputation.
The court held that Greece must was to pay Bakoyannis’ €5,000 in damages and €1,240 in costs and expenses.
Bakoyannis’ also took a civil case against Kammenos, alleging posting of libelous tweets. In 2019, Athens First-Instance Court found in her favor and ordered Kammenos to pay her €5,000 in damages. However, the court refused to make the judgment public in accordance with relevant legislation.
