10 November 2017
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Inadequate investigation into the death of a phone operator employee allegedly linked to a high profile wiretapping affair(Press release, pdf) and Judgment: full-text (pdf):
"The Court considered that the Greek authorities had failed to carry out an adequate and effective investigation into the death of Costas Tsalikidis. It found in particular that the authorities had decided to close the supplementary investigation, simply citing the relevant steps that had been taken and referring to new reports, without addressing any of the inconsistencies that had been identified, such as the lack of injuries normally associated with hanging and contradictions in the rope mark on the deceased’s neck. Other inconsistencies had not been resolved either, including the striking difference in the conclusions of the coroners’ forensic reports in the initial and the supplementary investigations, the apparent lack of motive for suicide and the broken hyoid bone, a finding consistent with strangulation.
Indeed, it was not even clear on what grounds the public prosecutor had based his decision not to prosecute or to order further investigative measures as his decision to close the investigation had contained no reasoning. In reaching that conclusion, the Court notably bore in mind that the public prosecutor, during the initial investigation, had
mentioned that the death had been causally linked to the wiretapping case. It had therefore been all the more important to take every measure necessary to investigate Costas Tsalikidis’ death."
And see: ECHR rules against Greece over Tsalikidis’ mysterious death in wiretap scandal (Keep Talking Greece, link):
"The court considered that the Greek authorities had failed to carry out an adequate and effective investigation into the death of Costas Tsalikidis. The statement noted also:
It found in particular that the authorities had decided to close the supplementary investigation, simply citing the relevant steps that had been taken and referring to new reports, without addressing any of the inconsistencies that had been identified, such as the lack of injuries normally associated with hanging and contradictions in the rope mark on the deceased’s neck."
See also: Greece: Prime minister and top officials' phones tapped by "unknown individuals" (Statewatch News) and GREECE: The ‘Super-Panopticon’ Scandal of Áthens 2004 Olympics and its Legacy (Statewatch News)
EU: Greece: Court rules on suspicious death
Italy: Statement: Now it's happening in the detention centre in Caltanisseta
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