The Hellenic Parliament voted on Wednesday to lift the parliamentary immunity of Course of Freedom party leader Zoe Konstantopoulou in two separate legal cases.
Lawmakers simultaneously rejected requests to lift the immunity of ruling New Democracy party deputies Lefteris Avgenakis and Makarios Lazaridis, prompting opposition allegations of double standards in parliamentary procedures.
In the first vote concerning Konstantopoulou, 190 deputies voted in favor and 46 voted against, with 39 declaring present out of 275 lawmakers participating. The vote related to a slanderous defamation lawsuit filed by Christoforos Sevastidis, the president of the Association of Judges and Prosecutors.
The second request regarding Konstantopoulou received 191 votes in favor, 76 against, and eight present declarations out of 275 voting lawmakers. That case stems from a complaint by a police officer from the Larissa Transport Department, who alleged that Konstantopoulou illegally recorded video of him and posted the footage to social media without consent during a court session in the Tempi train disaster trial.
Konstantopoulou criticized the parliamentary decision, stating that she faced organized targeting and an industry of false lawsuits. She further claimed that the opposition PASOK party provided a helping hand to the governing New Democracy party through its actions within the Ethics Committee.
Immunity Requests for Government Deputies
In contrast to the decisions regarding the opposition leader, Parliament turned down immunity lift requests for two members of the ruling New Democracy party. The motion to strip the immunity of Makarios Lazaridis was defeated with 151 votes against and 121 in favor, alongside one present vote out of 293 recorded voters, though official tallies indicated 273 participating deputies.
A separate request to remove the immunity of former minister Lefteris Avgenakis was similarly rejected by 151 votes to 122, with 273 lawmakers taking part in the ballot. Party sources from New Democracy noted prior to the votes that government deputies were permitted a vote of conscience.
Fraud Lawsuit Against Makarios Lazaridis
The legal action against Lazaridis originated from a complaint lodged by a lawyer accusing the lawmaker of fraud against a Greek public sector entity under Article 386 of the Penal Code. The charges allege financial damage exceeding 120,000 euros in connection with Lazaridis's degree credentials and his appointment as a special advisor in 2007.
Lazaridis defended himself in a memorandum submitted to the parliamentary plenary, maintaining that the accusations were entirely unfounded. He stated that the issue resulted from an administrative error rather than fraudulent intent, adding that there was no forged degree, no forged supporting document, and no false statement. He also asserted that the lawsuit carried characteristics of political persecution, alleging that the complainant was a political candidate for a party founded by Artemis Sorras.
Asset Declaration Charges Facing Lefteris Avgenakis
The immunity request for Avgenakis followed a lawsuit filed by Stefanos Kasselakis, the former leader of SYRIZA. The complaint alleged inaccuracies in Avgenakis's annual asset declarations, known in Greece as pothen esches, and sought to connect those disclosures to ongoing investigations at OPEKEPE, the state agency responsible for managing agricultural subsidy payments in Greece.
Avgenakis rejected the allegations in a statement, calling Kasselakis's claims completely unfounded and politically motivated. He stated that all of his assets and liabilities had been properly declared without any unjustified changes in wealth. He added that attempting to link his personal asset filings to the OPEKEPE agency lacked any factual foundation and accused Kasselakis of seeking to create false impressions without concrete evidence.
Opposition Allegations of Double Standards
The decision to shield government deputies while stripping Konstantopoulou's immunity triggered sharp criticism across the opposition benches in the Greek Parliament. Dimitris Mantzos, parliamentary representative for the center-left PASOK party, accused New Democracy of orchestrating a cover-up, stating that the ruling party routinely covers up everything.
Theofilos Xanthopoulos, parliamentary representative for the main opposition party SYRIZA, similarly condemned the stance of New Democracy lawmakers during the proceedings. Spyridon Tsironis of the right-wing NIKI party cited petty party expediency, while Maria Komninaka of the Communist Party of Greece, known as KKE, described the parliamentary outcome as outright hypocrisy.
Defending the majority, New Democracy parliamentary representative Dimitris Kairidis stated regarding the Lazaridis case that even if an alleged offense took place outside parliamentary duties, the deputy would not have faced prosecution if he were not an MP. Kairidis stressed that Parliament is obligated to deny immunity requests when political expediency is involved. Addressing the Avgenakis case, Kairidis criticized opposition parties for rejecting a proposal in the Ethics Committee to refer the asset matter to the dedicated Asset Declaration Committee.
Voting Breakaways and Absentee Deputies
The vote totals highlighted several party differentiations and absences among the 300-seat chamber. New Democracy lawmakers Giannis Kefalogiannis, Giannis Oikonomou, and Angelos Syrigos did not participate in the ballots concerning Lazaridis and Avgenakis, while three other ruling party deputies, Dimitris Avramopoulos, Dora Bakoyannis, and Maximos Senetakis, were absent from all four immunity votes.
Deputy Foreign Minister Giannis Loverdos voted against lifting Konstantopoulou's immunity in the Sevastidis case and voted in favor of stripping Avgenakis's immunity, with reports indicating his choices were likely made by mistake. Meanwhile, New Democracy deputy Giannis Paschalidis, who represents the same Kavala constituency as Lazaridis, recorded a present vote on Lazaridis's immunity motion. PASOK lawmaker Andreas Poulas, representing Argolida, voted to lift immunity for both New Democracy deputies but abstained from voting on the two motions concerning Konstantopoulou.
Tensions over the outcome reflected broader internal discussions within New Democracy prior to the session. Party sources indicated that several majority lawmakers had expressed frustration with the Ethics Committee's recommendations, arguing that Parliament should consistently vote to lift immunity in accordance with established practice, regardless of whether criminal liability is eventually established.
