In a heated courtroom appearance during the trial of former protected witnesses in the Novartis case, Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis delivered a performance that was part testimony, part theatre. His remarks were marked by high drama, raised voices, personal insults and sexist language. Accusing his accusers of a politically motivated 'set-up,' Georgiadis condemned what he called a "shocking smear campaign," directly addressing witness Filistor Destempasidis with the words: "Say who put you up to this. Be a man and clear your name."

The minister was testifying in the ongoing trial of Filistoras Destempasidis and Maria Marangeli, both former whistleblowers in the case involving allegations that pharmaceutical corporation Novartis bribed Greek politicians, including Georgiadis. Taking the stand as the second prosecution witness after Andreas Loverdos, Georgiadis appeared before the Single-Member Misdemeanour Court and repeated his claim that the entire Novartis affair was a “fabricated conspiracy” based on flimsy accusations, aimed at discrediting him and nine other political figures.

Referring to the anonymous witnesses known by the aliases “Maximos Sarafis” and “Aikaterini Kelesi,” Georgiadis said their statements amounted to deliberate defamation. He alleged that they misled authorities in order to gain financial benefit from the United States and legal immunity in Greece, and claimed their testimony served specific political agendas targeting the then-opposition.

While acknowledging that Destempasidis and Kelesi did provide useful information to U.S. authorities about Novartis’s practices, Georgiadis said their statements to Greek justice officials later introduced new elements that had never been mentioned before. Addressing Destempasidis directly in court, he challenged him to reveal who had encouraged him to speak out:

“Say who put you up to it. Be a man and clear your name.”

When asked by the judge about his connection to Konstantinos Frouzis, Georgiadis said he had met him during Frouzis’s tenure as head of the Hellenic Association of Pharmaceutical Companies (SFEE), at the time of Greece’s PSI crisis. He said their interactions were professional and similar to those he had with other pharma representatives. He stressed that, under his tenure, pharmaceutical spending was cut significantly, and that Novartis had fewer of its requests approved compared to rival companies – hardly evidence, he argued, of preferential treatment. He also reminded the court that SFEE had once called for his resignation, back in 2013.

On the topic of the so-called Harvard Project, Georgiadis was dismissive:

“They asked me to give a brief greeting at an event. I went, said a few words, and left. Then I heard I was being accused of taking €250,000!”

Commenting on Nikos Maniadakis – once a protected witness, now both defendant and complainant – Georgiadis explained that Maniadakis had been one of his advisers as a public health professor. Though he initially took legal action against him, Georgiadis later withdrew the suit after Maniadakis claimed he had been coerced into testifying.

During his testimony, Georgiadis said he supported the idea of protected witnesses in principle, provided there are proper safeguards and consequences for false testimony.

Asked whether the Novartis affair was truly a scandal involving doctors, Georgiadis replied that some doctors may have been involved, but that the investigation had taken on a political tone due to how the witnesses had directed it.

Tensions boiled over when Maria Marangeli’s lawyer, Konstantinos Doukas, exploded in anger after Georgiadis remarked:

“You should be ashamed of what your mother made you.”

Outraged, Doukas slammed down the courtroom microphones and demanded a public retraction. The minister’s security team stepped in, and the session was briefly adjourned. When the hearing resumed, Georgiadis offered an apology, which Doukas accepted.

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