In its article of 21-12-2022, Transparency International expresses its serious concerns about the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of a staff member of Amnesty International’s Greek Department, who was taken to police headquarters for an identity check on the evening of 14 December 2022, after questioning police officers during an operation in the centre of Athens.
The staff member had asked police officers, who had stopped a group of 13 people, whether they had informed the individuals in question of the grounds on which they would be brought to the police station, and expressed her concerns about the police’s decision to take another bystander to the station for an identity check shortly after she had asked them to show her their badges. Shortly thereafter, the police informed the Transparency International staff member that she would also be taken to the station for identity verification. When the staff member protested, saying that there was no justification for her being brought in as she had not committed any offence and had produced her ID card, she was told that she was suspected of an offence, that it was a senior police officer’s order and that she would be formally arrested for disobeying a police order if she did not board the police van. It is reported that these 15 persons were taken to headquarters, where they were detained for two hours and then all were released without charge.
In a state governed by the rule of law, the police authorities must be governed by certain principles, including the principle of legality, the principle of proportionality, the prohibition of the abuse of police power and the respect for and protection of human rights.
Police action in excess of the legal limits and any arbitrary deprivation of citizens’ freedom constitute unlawful practices and are a dangerous phenomenon for democracy.
The powers of the police authorities and the conduct they must demonstrate in the performance of their duties are regulated, inter alia, by Decree 141/1991 and Decree 254/2004. It should be noted that citizens may be brought to a police station to verify their identity and collect evidence to investigate any crime committed or to prevent a crime. (see, inter alia, Art. 74 (15) and a police circular on ‘The arrest of persons as a preventive and repressive action in the exercise of police powers’).
However, as reported in a Transparency International article, a member of staff was arbitrarily deprived of her liberty when she expressed concern about police officers’ actions.
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