Xeni Dimitriou: Works and days of a willing prosecutor

By Dimitra Kroustalli

There are certain posts in public service that operate almost anonymously for the majority of the population because the institution transcends the individual that serves it.

Such was the case with the Supreme Court Prosecutor's Office.

The SYRIZA-Independent Greeks coalition government, however, denied its constitutionally mandated independence and transformed into an arm of the executive branch.

In order to undertake this "mission", it became the core of a para-judiciary network that did not endure the weight of the responsibilities described in the penal code and "broke" in the Novartis case.

Everything that occurred during the tenure of Supreme Court Prosecutor Xeni Dimitriou, which ended on 30 June, is the story of lost opportunities for her but fortunately not for the judiciary, which resisted attempts to degrade it and thus protected democracy.

Using the judiciary as a means

The manner in which Ms Dimitriou was promoted to the post of Supreme Court Prosecutor revealed that it was not a neutral decision.

When the SYRIZA-Independent Greeks government came to power it already began by February, 2015, with one month in office, to reveal its intention of using the judiciary as a political tool.

Orders were issued to re-open cases that would harm the previous government and judges and prosecutors who did not fall in line were automatically marginalised.

Efterpi Koutzamani served as Supreme Court Prosecutor until she reached the age limit in June, 2016, and had to retire.

For one year, Justice Minister Nikos Paraskevopoulos and Alternate Justice Minister Dimitris Papangelopoulos kept Koutzamani "frozen" and did not even send her documents, which instead were...