He described the complaints against him as “false and made up after the fact”. He claimed that he was in the dock “because he was faced with corruption and entanglement” and spoke of “shameless defamation of him”. Intervention of the President of the Court to complete the trial by the end of February.
Ioanna Mandrou
Former Deputy Minister of Justice Dimitris Papagelopoulos, who is on trial before the Special Court, spoke about a “political trial” while apologizing for about five hours, declaring from the beginning “I am angry and I feel horror for what I have suffered”.
The former minister stated that “his presumption of innocence has been violated many times” while adding that “A powerful system, with a lot of money, with edges in justice targeted me and tried to exterminate me”.
During his apology, he asked the Special Court: “I want to be acquitted for reasons of substance and to prove that what was said against me by only three witness prosecutors out of the total of thousands of Greek prosecutors and judges, openly testified lies distort the truth and contradict each other».
Before beginning his apology, the minister on trial referred to the will of the Special Court with which he closed the part concerning the charges in the Novartis case, emphasizing that recently in the Parliament there were references to “Novartis and Rasputin” speaking of “a lack of respect for decisions of justice”.
The former minister, apologizing, spoke of “smudge shamelessly” at his expense and claimed. “I am very afraid that Mr. Rammos and Mr. Menudakos will have my luck. If they can, they will take him to court. The method is fixed, known and tested. They defame consciences shamelessly. All they care about is covering up the big scandals».
With regard to the substance of the complaints of three prosecutors (Eleni Raikou, Pan. Athanasiou and Georgia Tsatani) that he interfered in their work, according to his apology, Dim. Papagelopoulos characterized them as “false and fabricated».
And it was detailed in the complaints of the prosecutor Pan. Athanasiou that he interfered in his work for specific cases, such as that of the journalist of the Youth Giorgos Papachristou, Michalis Salla in which he insisted stating that he never interfered in the case in question.
His apology in detail
I am angry, I am horrified at what I have suffered.
The will decided definitively and irrevocably that there is no skevoria and there is no Rasputin. My presumption of innocence has been violated many times. Recently the Parliament heard about the Novartis and Rasputin conspiracy. This shows a lack of respect for the decisions of justice which are otherwise cut. This was done in my opinion as an inappropriate attempt to manipulate justice. I am very afraid that Mr. Rammos and Mr. Menudakos will have my luck. If they can, they will also bring him to court. The method is fixed, known and tested. They defame consciences shamelessly. All they care about is covering up the big scandals.
I am informed by authoritative and honest people from ND and PASOK that they are preparing another atrocity against me. It has nothing to do with the case. I want to believe they do it out of love for me. I want to denounce it and express my hope that they will not proceed so that the dignity of justice is not damaged once again.
Why I was in the dock
I was led to the bench by the machinations of politicians who wanted to cover up their responsibilities for other horrible scandals. Despite all that I have suffered, it is my honor and my pride that I was sent to the dock. A small rotten part of the political system tried to neutralize me. Lagarde list, Borjans list and Vgenopoulos case. The lies are shameless, shamelessly paranoid. The issue is not me, but justice and democracy. Justice is affected by all this.
This trial is political. And everything must be said to be recorded not only in the minutes of your court, but also in historical memory. The indictment for me both legally and substantively has collapsed. I want to be acquitted for reasons of substance and to prove that what was said against me by only three witness prosecutors out of the total of thousands of Greek prosecutors and judges, openly testified lies distort the truth and contradict each other.
The complaints are false
Their lies are so many that even last night I found new lies. All their statements, from the beginning to the end, wherever they gave them, are false and fabricated after the fact.
I will talk about parastatal actions that were carried out against me. The target was me, but the big picture is justice and democracy in our country.
My political persecutors and the few willing witnesses tried to portray the Novartis and massive tax evasion scandals as my own. A powerful system tried to neutralize and exterminate me.
I was against corruption and entanglement. I didn’t put anything in the file. I ordered the surveys for equipment, OTE, public works. These big scandals which together with the health scandals led the country to bankruptcy I gave an order to be investigated. They owe me all this.
The charge against Touloupakis
For moral complicity in abuse of power: I have absolutely no role in the deposition – report on Kouroumbilis. Mrs. Raikou and her assistants linked her to Novartis and very well they did. I know nothing about this case. This report was not a lawsuit.
The complaints of three prosecutors
I am being accused by three prosecutors of interfering with their duties All three are blatantly lying. All three have committed criminal acts for which they have not been investigated. They were not satisfied with their lies. Apart from me and Mrs. Touloupakis, they defiled anyone who came in their way.
Complaints from prosecutor Athanasiou
Mr. Athanasiou in his statements we must see their criminal and moral dimension. He used his position to his advantage. They pretended to be Syrisaeus, me. He asked me to meet him in Tsipras. He used the case of Salla and Papachristou and two others that I will mention today to renew his term. I told him that no one’s term is renewed for a third time.
He used Mr. Papachristos, Salla, but also two more cases for Kefalogiannis and Dendias.
Especially for Salla, it was the case, his heavy weapon … It was the nuclear weapon he thought he had to renew his term.
He told me clearly. He used to come and tell me wouldn’t a prosecution against Salla and Papachristou be good? I told him there will be no renewal.
I was explaining it to him. There he… He was approaching other Syriza MPs. And where did he leak about Salla? In the Document.
No one from SYRIZA has ever asked me for anything. They didn’t care about Sallas. MPs from the ND asked me for more.
He did the same with Papachristos. Dendias, who was my friend, and Kefalogiannis also offered me a lure. He was telling me, will Alexis like this? In the last years it became like this … He pretended to be my friend, he was not my friend. It seems incredible to you, but I never asked him for anything. If I asked him, he would do everything he could to renew his term.
Intervention of the President of the trial
And while the trial minister’s apology continues tomorrow, the President of the Special Court, Vasiliki Iliopoulou, informed all the actors of the trial, that the trial must be completed by the end of February at the latest, implying that the Court is planning the end of the trial, before the imminent announcement of parliamentary elections.
The intervention of the President of the Special Court is related to the prediction that during the pre-election period the trial of the case before the Special Court will stop until Parliament is reconvened.
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