Famellos meets Left and LIBE MEPs, says government is 'trampling the rule of law' in Greece
SYRIZA–Progressive Alliance leader Sokratis Famellos used a meeting with European lawmakers to accuse the Greek government of “trampling the rule of law” and exposing the country within the European Union, arguing there is a growing public demand for political change that respects equality and transparency.
Famellos met with Kostas Arvanitis, a SYRIZA-PS MEP and vice-president of the Left group in the European Parliament, as well as Estrella Galán and Fernando Barrena, MEPs who sit on the Parliament’s civil liberties committee (LIBE).
He referred to the European Parliament’s recent report on the rule of law, saying that issues concerning Greece include the surveillance and wiretapping scandal, shortcomings in transparency, accountability and corruption related to the unlawful management of EU and national funds, the need to strengthen the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, press freedom, and judicial independence.
On these matters, he said, the government bears “enormous responsibility” and “exposes” Greece in the EU. Linking fundamental rights to a society of prosperity that protects public goods and fosters an economy built on transparency and equality, Famellos also criticized prison conditions and what he described as an emerging plan to privatize correctional facilities.
He said SYRIZA supports a correctional system that upholds the rule of law while respecting the rights of citizens, workers and detainees, and rejected what he called a “sterile, punitive and authoritarian policy” pursued by the government over the past seven years.
Arvanitis, speaking after recent visits to prisons with the two MEPs, said the government “criminalizes poverty” and “punishes those who stumbled.” He argued that right-wing policies produce poverty and, in turn, petty delinquency, and that the absence of social infrastructure creates significant hardship.
He criticized the tightening of penalties without reintegration policies, saying it causes major problems for the prison system and for people.
Arvanitis also noted that Greece is the second country in the EU where prisons do not fall under the Justice Ministry but under the Ministry of Citizen Protection, and highlighted poor conditions, including the existence of only one psychiatric facility for thousands of inmates — and that it serves only men.
The Left group MEPs, stressing the need for a joint effort against the far right, said the rule of law in Greece is at risk and congratulated Famellos for his work in defense of human rights and the rule of law.
Galán, describing their prison visits, said they observed “a whole strategy” and “a war” against the poorest, warning that harshness in prisons leads to overcrowding and a reduction of rights for the most vulnerable — and, regarding refugees, constitutes a blow to human rights.