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With his “bullet”. Council of State the guarding and protection of A.T., a person who was closely connected with the famous Siemens case, is restored. With the decision No. 747/2026 of the 4th Department of the Council of State were cancelled the actions of the Greek Police that had led to the termination of her police protection.
A.K., which had been characterized for a number of years “vulnerable target” due to her status as an essential witness in the case and her close relationship with a key protagonist of the scandal, she was placed under increased security measures, with her residence guarded and her movements escorted.
The Supreme Court, chaired by Ilias Mazos and rapporteur Ioannis Papagianni, ruled by majority that the decision to suspend the protection measures lacked sufficient and specific reasoning. According to the rationale for the decisiona short period of time had passed since the previous judgment of the competent authorities, by which it had been decided to continue her protection, without it appearing that the conditions justifying her protection had changed substantially.
The judges pointed out that the suspension of the measures was mainly based on the lack of specific information about active threat at the expense of A.K., but without proving that the risks that were previously assessed as serious had now been eliminated. As emphasized in the decision, the absence of direct evidence is not sufficient in itself to justify the removal of protection when there has not been a substantial reassessment of the data.
The decision of the SC comes three years after the verdict of the Five-member Court of Criminal Appeals in the Siemens case. In June 2023, the Court of Second Instance had acquitted 20 of the 22 accused who sat on the bench, while for acts that were allegedly committed until 2002, it was decided to stop the criminal prosecution due to the statute of limitations, with the consequence that no one was convicted.
