Under fire, Zisis gets suspended
For the first time in the history of the Supreme Court, its vice president was temporarily suspended yesterday as he prepares to face misdemeanor charges over allegations that he interfered in the outcome of trials. Achilleas Zisis was charged last Friday with multiple counts of dereliction of duty and with breaching the law on declaration of assets (known as pothen esches). The charges came after claims that he allowed a businessman to pay for the materials used to build the judge’s holiday home and then intervened in a number of court cases on his behalf. A 15-member council of judges voted by nine to six to suspend Zisis after Justice Minister Anastassis Papaligouras requested that the Supreme Court examine whether he should still be serving as a judge while waiting to face trial. Zisis, who is also the president of the Union of Judges and Prosecutors, said he was confident he would be cleared of the charges. «Truth always triumphs in the end,» he said.
