A new round of political turbulence exploded for the government after former Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) citizens protection minister Giannis Panousis told Proto Thema about death threats he had received from SYRIZA officials that have ties  with terrorist organizations. His revelation left Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras exposed, bearing in mind that Panousis claims that the Greek leader has been aware of the threats for four months. The former minister is expected at the Supreme Court on Monday to meet with prosecutor Efterpi Goutzamani concerning the allegations. National Intelligence Service Chief Yiannis Roubatis has also received a file concerning the names of people embroiled in the scandal.

Panousis appeared annoyed that no government officials directly spoke with him following the interview. Instead, government sources prompted Panousis to seek justice rather than make allegations through media interviews as these are “too serious to trawl around the media”. For this reason, he will open the canister of scandal and terrorism that could cause problems for the government bearing in mind that Panousis intends to name figures that reportedly have ties with terorrist organizations from his own party.

In an interview with private radio station VIMA FM, Panousis clarified that the government members who are threatening his life are not ministers or deputies but SYRIZA members who are still involved with the party.

Noteworthy is the fact that the current Alternate Citizens Protection Minister Nikos Toskas states that he is  unaware of the threats, even though Panousis insists that he informed both his successor and Tsipras. Panousis states that the reason why he had refrained from going to the prosecutor earlier was to avoid causing a political explosion.

Panousis told journalists that a statement published on the Indymedia website on Sunday backs up his claim. The text, signed by a group supporting rights of “political prisoners”, refers to people being held as witnesses in the trial for members of the Conspiracy of the Cells of Fire urban guerrilla group. The statement alleges that Panousis’ “provocative” claims are an attempt to cover up abuses of inmate’s rights.