Main opposition SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance questioned the motives behind the government's insistence that the identity of the protected witnesses in the Novartis trial be revealed, pointing out in an announcement on Sunday that the Greek courts have repeatedly refused the relevant requests.
The party pointed out that Novartis and Novartis Hellas had agreed to pay a settlement of 346 million dollars to U.S. authorities to avoid "further investigation into, among others, its activities aiming to influence officials in Greece." It also stressed that the "justice in American had found that the protected witnesses, about which there is now so much talk, to be reliable."
"The fact that Adonis Georgiadis, Andreas Loverdos and Antonis Samaras are insisting on the supposed 'uncovering' [of these witnesses] when the Greek courts have repeatedly rejected their relevant requests....proves their disrespect for the institution of justice," the party announcement added.
By insisting on a revelation of the witnesses' identities in order to uncover the so-called 'plot', "they jeopardise the entire European framework for protected witnesses and essentially aim at its abolition," SYRIZA-PA asserted, while also insinuating that the government's aim was possibly "to intimidate or deter some witnesses in other cases".
It concluded by accusing the government of seeking to divert attention away from "the real problems facing society, such as high prices, the high cost of energy and the strangulation of small and medium-sized enterprises."