Judges and Prosecutors Association calls State Department statement on Giotopoulos’ release “unfortunate”

The Association of Judges and Prosecutors has strongly protested against the U.S. State Department, accusing it of attempting to “openly interfere with our country’s judiciary” through its statement regarding the release of Alexandros Giotopoulos. In a sharply worded response, the Association issued its own statement addressing the U.S. position.

Statement by the Association of Judges and Prosecutors

“The Association of Judges and Prosecutors expresses its serious concern regarding the recent statement issued by the United States Department of State, in which it explicitly declares that ‘The United States is deeply disappointed by the decision of the Piraeus Court of Appeals to release Alexandros Giotopoulos,’ and further notes that it ‘urges the Greek government to do whatever it can to return Giotopoulos to prison.’

This is one of the rare occasions on which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of another state attempts to openly intervene in our country’s judicial system, despite being fully aware of the principle of the separation of powers. We do not know whether it has become customary in the United States for governments to overturn court decisions; however, democracy in Greece and the inherent separation of powers assign the authority to determine whether prisoners meet the legal requirements for conditional release—regardless of the crime for which they are incarcerated—exclusively to the judiciary.

As a judicial association, we strongly protest this unfortunate statement and expect support for the judicial system from the entire political spectrum.”