In a statement, SYRIZA detailed its stance:

“This is a gravestone for a vital institution in witness protection, which exists throughout Europe and is essential to serving justice, especially in cases of high public interest. It was precisely this mechanism that aided the exposure of the international Novartis scandal.”

The statement further notes the wider impact of the testimony provided by protected witnesses:

“Thanks to the testimonies of protected witnesses—and the cooperation of witnesses with the US justice system—Novartis was forced to settle out of court with the US government for $345 million, of which $310 million related directly to practices in Greece. Yet the Greek government has never pursued action against the multinational corporation.”

SYRIZA also pointed out that the witnesses in the Novartis case were awarded the European Parliament’s 2020 Prize for “Journalists, public interest witnesses and defenders of the right to information,” in honour of Daphne Caruana Galizia, the Maltese journalist murdered in 2017.

The statement further attributes the context for the current decision to a legislative amendment introduced by the New Democracy government earlier this year:

“The path to this outcome was paved by the government itself with the amendment to Article 218 of the Code of Civil Procedure, regarding witness protection status. The government has created the conditions to dismantle the witness protection system.”

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