THE decision of the Special Court for Nikos Pappa is a trap for Alexis Tsipras, says the government representative, Yiannis Oikonomou, in a statement, and asks if the president of SYRIZA will withdraw Mr. Pappas from the ballots.

The statement of Mr. Economos

“The Supreme Special Court unanimously found former Minister Mr. Nikos Pappa – the oldest and closest associate of Mr. Tsipras – guilty of breach of duty in the case of the competition for television licenses in 2016. He even imposed the maximum penalty for this offense prescribed penalty.

Conviction for dereliction of duty constitutes the most discreditable offense for public officials.

The decision is personally embarrassing for Mr. Tsipras, as Mr. Pappas, through the Maximos Palace, coordinated and directed an operation to control and manipulate information, with the ultimate goal of falsifying democracy. This is a sad day in our political history as a former Minister is convicted of dereliction of duty.

But it is also a revealing day.

On the one hand, because it appeared that the independent Greek Justice is finally reaching the truth and everything is coming to light. Mr. Pappas was found guilty through a hearing process that resulted in a unanimous decision of the Supreme Special Court. He was found guilty through institutional and legal procedures, not through the claims of undercover witnesses or on the basis of what is peddled by dirty networks and all sorts of conspiracy theorists.

And on the other hand, because the institutional diversion launched by the SYRIZA government, at the most central level, was revealed beyond all doubt.

It is also an absolute justification of the conclusion of the Pre-Inquiry Committee of the Parliament.

The syriza censors must take their political responsibilities, immediately and bravely, and admit the obvious: that they have misused and illegally used the power given to them by the Greek people to manipulate the information, beat our democracy and turn Greece into an authoritarian third world regime.

After the unanimous decision, the questions are pressing and must be answered immediately, without half-talks and evasions:

– Will Mr. Tsipras take the political responsibility that is assigned to him for the works and days of his oldest and closest partner?

– Will Mr. Tsipras withdraw from the ballots and delete from SYRIZA the irrevocably and unanimously condemned Mr. Pappas?