The dispute between journalist and former MP Konstantinos Bogdanos and MEP and president of “Voice of Reason,” Afroditi Latinopoulou, is moving to the courts, following allegations concerning forged signatures in the party’s founding declaration.

The case began in November 2024, when Bogdanos filed a legal complaint against Latinopoulou, alleging that fake signatures had been used in the party’s founding document. The complaint was co-signed by two additional members of “Voice of Reason.”

According to Bogdanos at the time, authorities were asked to urgently verify the authenticity of the names and signatures submitted during the party’s formation, claiming that some did not correspond to real individuals.

The Prosecutor’s Office of First Instance evaluated the case file and assigned it to an investigating judge. As part of the inquiry, Bogdanos and individuals who were said to have signed the declaration were called to testify. According to reports, several inconsistencies were identified in the list of signatures.

After the preliminary investigation was completed, a case file was compiled and forwarded again to the Prosecutor’s Office. Subsequently, a request was submitted to the European Parliament to lift Afroditi Latinopoulou’s parliamentary immunity so that criminal proceedings can continue.

Latinopoulou’s letter to Metsola requesting voluntary waiver of immunity

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola announced in plenary that the request from the Greek judiciary had been received. The case is now expected to be referred to the Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) of the European Parliament, which will assess the matter and invite Latinopoulou before deciding on lifting her immunity.

It is noted that Latinopoulou had already voluntarily submitted a request in January for the waiver of her parliamentary immunity to Metsola.

“For months I have been subjected to relentless mudslinging, defamation, political persecution and legal harassment by political opponents, media serving specific interests and power centers disturbed by the presence of VOICE OF REASON in the European Parliament,” Latinopoulou had stated at the time, calling for the process to proceed swiftly so that full clarity can be brought to the case.

Her letter in full:

Dear Madam President of the European Parliament,

I address you in my capacity as a Member of the European Parliament, in order to formally and voluntarily request the waiver of my parliamentary immunity, in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Treaties and the Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament.

In my country of origin, Greece, a lawsuit has been filed against me by political opponents. I am absolutely confident that any impartial judicial examination will unequivocally prove my innocence.

Precisely because I have nothing to hide, and because I firmly believe in the principles of transparency, accountability, and the rule of law, I consider it both my obligation and my duty — first and foremost to the citizens who honor me with their vote — to facilitate the swift and unhindered administration of justice.

For this reason, and in order to ensure that there is not even the slightest suspicion that I might use my parliamentary immunity as a shield against judicial scrutiny, I voluntarily request its waiver.

My request is submitted in the interest of legal clarity, institutional integrity, and respect for democratic principles. I wish for the competent judicial authorities to be able to examine the case without delay, so that the truth may be fully revealed as soon as possible.

I kindly ask you, Madam President, to initiate the relevant procedure immediately, so that the waiver of my parliamentary immunity may be approved as quickly as possible, in order to facilitate the work of the Greek judiciary and fully shed light on this unprecedented act of political coercion, which stems from the rising electoral influence of VOICE OF REASON.

Yours sincerely,
Afroditi Latinopoulou
Member of the European Parliament
President of VOICE OF REASON