Georgiou case: Gov’t withdraws ECHR appeal
The government has withdrawn an application to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) requesting a review of the decision vindicating former president of the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) Andreas Georgiou that his right to a fair trial had been violated in Greece.
Last month, while the government was in the hands of a caretaker administration, the State Legal Council filed an application for a review of the case by the ECHR, rejecting the decision that Georgiou did not have a fair trial in Greece.
As soon as the newly elected Mitsotakis government learned about the application, it immediately started the procedures to withdraw the request.
The Finance Ministry has confirmed that the appeal has been withdrawn.
After twelve years before the Greek courts, Georgiou was vindicated in March by the ECHR, which condemned Greece for violating his right to a fair trial.
The case concerns Georgiou’s conviction of for breach of duty because he did not seek the approval of the ELSTAT board before communicating to Eurostat the revised fiscal data for the period 2006-2009 in November 2010. Although he was unanimously acquitted at the Court of First Instance, in 2017 he was convicted by the Court of Appeal to the maximum sentence of two years imprisonment suspended for three years.
