As reported in a news247.gr article, in early July 2023 in Kaminias, a policeman attacked a 25-year-old Roma woman, knowing that she was in her third month of pregnancy.
According to what the woman’s lawyer described to news24/7, a police officer entered her home without any legal reason or legal right, and violently seized her, in her pajamas, and drove her to the police station.The woman decided to take legal action against the police officer for abuse of authority and unlawful violence. The incident was also denounced by the Panhellenic Confederation of the Greek Roma, Ellan Passe.
In a state governed by the rule of law, the action and functioning of the police authorities must be governed by certain principles, including the principle of legality, the principle of proportionality, the prohibition of abuse of police power, the prohibition of discrimination, and the respect for and protection of human rights.
The powers of the police authorities and the conduct to be displayed by them in the exercise of their duties are regulated, inter alia, by Decree Laws 538/1989, 141/1991 and 254/2004.
Although the police may use force to enforce the law, this does not mean that all use of preventive or repressive force by the police is lawful. On the contrary, the arbitrary use of the power to use force and police action in excess of the legal limits is a dangerous phenomenon for a democracy.
The alleged behavior of the police authorities in this particular case (pulling hair, abuse of power, allegedly racist attack) can only raise serious concerns.
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