Two lawyers have denounced the behavior of police officers in the early hours of September 3, 2022. They report that following a drink in a bar in Exarchia they were on their way to their car when a police officer from a squad located in Exarchia square stopped them and asked for their identity documents. The lawyers informed them of their profession and asked why this particular check was being carried out. While one of the lawyers was trying to show his documentation to the officers, he saw the officer who was talking to the other lawyer grab him by the neck, put him in a headlock and try to immobilize him. More generally, there were tensions, insults and shouting, while the aggressive attitude of a police officer towards residents of the area who were at the scene was captured on video (see from minute 3.11 to 3.51).
According to their testimony, they were then handcuffed and taken to the Exarchia police station where they were held for many hours. During their detention the officers asked one of the two lawyers to remove his clothes and searched his personal belongings.
For more details see: 1, 2, 3, ,4
According to circular 2/2021 issued by the Prosecutor of the Supreme Court, lawyers are not subject to the provisions of the spontaneous procedure for arrests and therefore, following their apprehension and the verification of their identity, are not to be detained but are immediately brought before the public prosecutor in the case they are to be charged for misdemeanors.
However, according to allegations, the prosecutor was not contacted, one of the lawyers also unlawfully had his finger prints taken, and one of the lawyers was asked to apologize, which is not official procedure.
In a letter to the Minister of Citizen Protection, the President of the Athens Bar Association communicated the lawyers’ complaints to the authorities, calling on them to immediately proceed with disciplinary measures for the police officers involved. The letter also noted that such incidents of the excessive and arbitrary exercise of the use of force by police officers are inconsistent with the mission of the police services, offend and demean the legal profession as a whole, and undermine the rule of law and the protection of citizens’ constitutionally guaranteed rights.
In a state governed by the rule of law, the actions of the police authorities must be governed by certain principles such as the principle of legality, the principle of proportionality, the prohibition of the abusive exercise of police power and the respect and protection of human rights. Therefore, although the police may use violence to enforce the law, this does not mean that every instance of the use of preventive or repressive force on their part is legal. On the contrary, the arbitrary use of violence is a dangerous phenomenon for a democracy.
The responsibilities and behaviour of the police authorities in the exercise of their duties are regulated by Presidential Decrees 141/1991 and 254/2004, among other laws.
In a state governed by the rule of law, lawyers are entitled to the respect and honor due to their function from any persons acting within the framework of the Public Administration. In the event that a lawyer is spontaneously arrested, they are not to be detained, but should be brought straight to the relevant public prosecutor.
In this case, however, two lawyers complain that they were subjected to an unprovoked attack and taken to the police station in handcuffs, despite the fact that they had disclosed their identities and status.
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