N17 trial reasoning withheld from press
In an unusual departure from customary practice, a senior judge yesterday refused to provide journalists with transcripts of the newly printed reasoning of the court that convicted 15 November 17 terrorists in December 2003. The 6,000-page document, which explained the ruling in exhaustive detail, was due to have been made public yesterday. However, the president of the Athens appeals court’s administration, Haridimos Papadakis, declined to provide journalists – who had free access to the courtroom during the nine-month trial – with copies. Papadakis argued that to do so would constitute a breach of Greece’s privacy laws. He also reportedly threatened to take action against journalists should leaked excerpts of the court reasoning be published in the press. In previous major trials, such as the 1991 Koskotas corruption case, the reasoning was made available to the press.
