Minister denies new rule for prisoners’ education would favor Romanos
The Justice Ministry has denied claims that a proposed change to the rules governing whether prisoners can be given leave to study outside of jail is aimed at pleasing the demands of convicted bank robber and anarchist Nikos Romanos.
Justice Minister Nikos Paraskevopoulos issued a statement on Saturday claiming that such allegations were the result of a “coordinated effort” to raise doubts about the ministry’s work. He said the plan is for prison disciplinary boards to review decisions on whether prisoners can be allowed out to attend classes while wearing an electronic tag.
At the moment, this decision falls to the judge who convicted the inmate in question.
Paraskevopoulos said the change is being made because the prison board, which is presided over by a prosecutor, is in a better position to decide whether a prisoner should be given permission to take part in classes. This provision is part of a draft law currently under public consultation.
Romanos has been accepted for a business management course at Athens Technical College.
