Supreme Court deputy prosecutor Nikos Pantelis has put an end to the practice of handcuffing people who are arrested due to overdue debts to the Greek state. A memo circulated to prosecutors, the Misdemeanors Appeal Court and the Greek police states that personal liberties need to be protected henceforth when executing arrests. Handcuffs should only be used when suspects resist arrest or try to escape.

In his memo, Mr. Pantelis cited the European Convention on Human Rights and said that Article 275 of the Code of Criminal Procedure pertaining to arrest should apply the rule for the protection of personal liberty as it stands in Article 6 of the Greek Constitution.