Supreme Court Prosecutor Efterpi Koutzamani is investigating claims made by former citizen protection minister Giannis Panousis that there were death threats made against him while he was serving as minister. The revelation of the death threats by Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) party members with links to terrorist organizations were first made public in the former minister’s interview with Proto Thema over the weekend.
Koutzamani is expected to decide on Tuesday or Wednesday on the legitimacy of the claims made by Panousis and as to whether these should be probed.
Panousis deposited documentation of the threats, including recorded conversations and written notes with the prosecutor. The file he handed over included names of political persons with links to terrorist groups operating in the country.
The former minister’s visit to the prosecutor came following statements made from within SYRIZA that urged Panousis to come forth with actual information as well as statements by Nikos Toskas, the current Citizen Protection Minister, that he had not been informed about the threats despite the fact that Panousis claims the contrary.
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has known about the threats for several months and Panousis had also informed the National Intelligence Service while he was still serving as minister.
In a reportage by Private MEGA TV, Panousis submitted the dialogues between SYRIZA members and terrorists. The TV reportage broadcast a portion of the dialogues.
SYRIZA official: We’ll look at everything. We’ll look at it legally: Savvas Xiros, DNA, release from prison, everything.
Member of the Conspiracy of the Cells of Fire terror organization: You do nothing.
SYRIZA official: It’s not just us, there are ‘superministers’ and he’s not ours.
Member of the Conspiracy of the Cells of Fire terror organization: It’s a good thing then that we bombed him.
In another dialogue, a leading member of the Conspiracy of the Cells of Fire Organization, angered by SYRIZA’s delays in the release of its members, says: “You tricked us! What did you do? Is that what we had agreed to? You tricked us!”
Migrant smuggling rackets too!
Following the visit to Koutzamani, the former minister visited Greece’s corruption prosecutors and reportedly submitted further material that allegedly points to corrupt ties between SYRIZA and the police force that came to his attention during his tenure as public order minister. In the second case, he pointed to alleged involvement of the police immigration department in migrant smuggling rackets.
SYRIZA’s reaction
Members of the ruling parties are distancing themselves from the former minister. Rather than give the claims the seriousness they warrant, the government is playing down the reports. Justice Minister Nikos Paraskevopoulos said he had no fully grasped the point of the allegations, notign that he has confused as the media report that revealed the ex-minister’s claims also featured extracts from an upcoming crime thriller that Panousis aims to publish.
On his part, Paraskevopoulos says that he has also received threats but is not worried about them as he has police protection.
Opposition parties are calling on Tsipras to take a stand on the matter, but there has been silence.
Government Spokesperson Olga Gerovasili said: “Mr. Panousis should prove his claims and explain why for seven months he did not inform justice nor the government regarding all the things he currently alleges. Instead, he shares his ‘dialogues’ with the mass media.” She added that Panousis should also explain why he did nothing as minister if he considered the accusations to be credible and serious.
A SYRIZA statement said that the “accusations regarding reported connections between SYRIZA officials and terrorism aren’t just funny but vulgar and insulting and will be handled as such. Mr. Panousis is submitted (files) to justice today following the urging of the government.”
