Minister sued over Pakistani abduction
Three of the Pakistani immigrants who claim that they were kidnapped by secret agents last summer have filed a criminal lawsuit against the public order minister at the time the alleged incident took place, Giorgos Voulgarakis. The three men have accused Voulgarakis, who is now culture minister, of instigating the alleged abductions, shielding guilty parties and lying in Parliament about the incident. Voulgarakis called the matter a «provocation or farce» as the government tried to play down the incident that allegedly took place after last year’s London terrorist bombings. The lawsuit by Chodwry Gulnawaz Ahmed, Muhammad Munir and Rafaqat Mehmood Raja claimed Voulgarakis «knew about and supported (the abductions), offering full coverage (to the perpetrators) and instigating the acts.» The governments of Greece, Pakistan and Britain deny involvement. The Pakistani migrants have proceeded with the legal case buoyed by a prosecutor’s decision last week to bring charges against «unknown persons.» After a four-month investigation, the prosecutor found that at least 14 Pakistanis were illegally abducted in Athens and northern Greece and questioned in July last year about their links with Pakistanis in London. In response to the prosecutor’s ruling that the kidnappings were probably carried out by state officials, the government said that it will wait for completion of the judicial investigation.
