Justice Minister Nikos Paraskevopoulos said that the Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) government has no intention of seizing the Goethe Institute. He made this statement on Thursday during a meeting with representatives of the relatives of victims of Nazi atrocities committed in the town of Distomo during WWII.

During the meeting, Distomo officials along with lawyer Christina Stamouli wanted to be briefed on the Supreme Court ruling that allows relatives to receive compensation. They wanted to know if the decision would be executed. They presented Paraskevopoulos with a local council decision ordering the execution of a local court ruling in favor of Distomo residents.

SYRIZA MP Giannis Stathas, also present at the meeting, said that the decision concerning the ruling should be decided by the government and not the justice minister, a view confirmed by Paraskevopoulos.

Both SYRIZA officials stated that nobody is discussing the seizure of Goethe but there are considerations concerning the enforcement of a court ruling on other German state assets.

On her part, Stamouli said that Paraskevopoulos is the first Justice Minister to pledged intent to take note of the court ruling since it was made in 2000.