While Ms Vavagianni took down the license plate of a car used by the attackers that later proved to belong to Kasidiaris, the latter was eventually acquitted of involvement in the crime, after years of court delays, on the grounds of ‘doubts’ when several witnesses (believed also to have links to Golden Dawn) claimed in court to have seen Kasidiaris driving the car elsewhere.
Kasidiaris then sued Ms Vavagianni for defamation and false testimony, claiming that she had deliberately tried to falsely incriminate him for political reasons. Her trial for perjury was due to resume on Monday but was postponed until March 2015 as Kasidiaris and his lawyer failed to show up due to the other legal proceedings against Kasidiaris (over his involvement in the neo-Nazi party that prosecutors say amounts to a criminal organisation).
Many see the case as a gross miscarriage of justice, with members of the neo-Nazi organisation given a free pass by a sympathetic justice system, while anyone who dares speak out against them is aggressively pursued by the party in and out of the courts. It should be noted that at the time of the initial incident Golden Dawn was little more than a footnote in Greek politics and Mr Kasidiaris was largely unknown.
Outside the court on Monday supporters of Ms Vavagianni protested her trial. Meanwhile the following anonymous letter has been posted on the internet and reproduced by numerous sites, which decries Ms Vavagianni’s persecution for the ‘crime’ of not keeping silent. (Translation by TPPi).
“You are 60 years old. You have spent your life serving the university. Your husband is in and out of chemotherapy. You see 5 pumped-up men beating a student on university grounds. You take down the license plate number. You look into what happened. Students who were there say, “I didn’t see anything, I don’t know anything, don’t get me involved.”
You bring up the incident at meeting of the senate and you make a statement to the police together with the victim of the attack giving the license plate number.
Several days later the police officer informs you that the car belongs to a ‘Kasidiaris’ who is a member of a neo-Nazi organisation. He recommends you don’t get involved (he will be proven right).
You know that you will be put through a stressful process, you know that you are getting mixed up if a case which could put your life at risk, but you decide to do the right thing, regardless of the cost. You learn from the TV that you are a ‘top-level member of [leftist opposition party] SYRIZA when you have never been a member of any political party.
Kasidiaris calls you a ‘snitch’ on TV stations, maintaining that you are in paid service.
He states that you are also facing charges, without mentioning that you face legal action because he himself has accused you of perjury.
You are dragged through the courts for seven years due to postponements.
You testify about what you saw. The pro-nazi lawyer insults you and implies that at the age of 60 you decided to get involved in a case regarding a person who was a complete stranger to you for political reasons.
The prosecutor and the judge allow the lawyer to talk to you as if you were a criminal. They are completely indifferent to your testimony.
A journalist with spiky hair states that you could have easily found the license plate number from Indymedia. You didn’t even know that Indymedia existed.
You are judged an unreliable witness, in contrast to the accused’s friends who state that they saw him in the morning with the car, who are deemed more reliable despite no proof whatsoever being submitted that the car was indeed elsewhere.
The trial is concluded. Innocent.
Now you are accused of perjury. At the age of 67. Your ordeal continues and now the court’s decision weighs against you.
The newspaper Proto Thema publishes your name and your photograph is circulated on neo-Nazi websites accompanied by disgusting comments.
So this is your reward for your good deed.
Now you’ve learnt your lesson. 'Don’t get involved – don’t speak – yours is a lost cause.'”