The European Parliament approved the lifting of parliamentary immunity for Aphrodite Latinopoulou.
The «green light» is formally given to trigger statutory procedures regarding allegations of forged signatures on the founding declaration of the political party «Foni Logikis».
Among other points, the official resolution of the legislative body references the «lawsuits on which the request is grounded», under which «Aphrodite Latinopoulou allegedly violated, during the establishment of the political party FONI LOGIKIS, Article 29 of Greek Law 3023/2002 on the financing of political parties, under which the founding declaration of a political party must bear signatures from at least 200 citizens possessing the right to vote.
A significant portion of signatures on the founding declaration of the party allegedly constitutes fictitious or forged entries.
Furthermore, the public funding allocated to the party, its financial management since its establishment, and its participation in the national elections of 2023 and the elections for the European Parliament in June 2024 allegedly occurred unlawfully».
Following an extensive review of the petition to lift Aphrodite Latinopoulou's immunity, the European Parliament clarifies that «it found in the present case no indications of fumus persecutionis, that is, that the proceedings were initiated with the intent of harming her political activity as a member of parliament and, by extension, the independence of the Parliament itself», and consequently determined «to waive the parliamentary immunity of Aphrodite Latinopoulou and mandate its President to transmit this resolution immediately to the competent authority of the Hellenic Republic and to Aphrodite Latinopoulou».
Latinopoulou's response
Aphrodite Latinopoulou issued a statement via social media video addressing the decision of the European Parliament to lift her immunity, directing fire against both New Democracy and Kyriakos Velopoulos.
The president of «Foni Logikis» addressed recent criticisms, specifically labels framing her as a government «crutch».
As she maintained, the vote cast by ND and Kyriakos Velopoulos in favor of lifting her immunity serves as a rebuttal to these accusations.
«Latinopoulou is a crutch! Finished! Finished in golden letters! Today in the European Parliament, New Democracy and Velopoulos voted hand in hand in favor of lifting my immunity», she stated.
She subsequently added:
«As is well known, you protect your crutches. If I were a crutch, Kyriakos Mitsotakis would have protected me».
Aphrodite Latinopoulou also recalled a previous proceeding concerning the lifting of immunity for Kyriakos Velopoulos in the Hellenic Parliament.
She maintained that back then, New Democracy lawmakers had voted against waiving his immunity.
«Just as he did when Velopoulos's immunity waiver arrived in the Greek parliament and lawmakers of Kyriakos Mitsotakis rushed to vote against it to protect their junior partner», she stated.
«So what is plainly obvious on the rooftop? The letters of Jesus along with claims that Latinopoulou is a crutch, together with the beeswax ointments and all the rest belong in the exact same drawer», she remarked, adding that «I feel deeply sorry for the naive who bought into this, but I am exceptionally happy and proud of those who refused to swallow the bait».
Turmoil on the right of ND: Bogdanos calls Foni Logikis unlawful due to forged signatures
It is highlighted that the controversy was initially ignited by Konstantinos Bogdanos, who in November 2024 filed a formal complaint against the party of Aphrodite Latinopoulou alleging forged signatures.
Specifically, a formal submission was filed on Thursday, November 14, 2024, with the Prosecutor of the Supreme Civil and Criminal Court of Greece through criminal attorney Theodoros Mantas on behalf of journalist and former MP Konstantinos Bogdanos, co-signed by former political council member of Foni Logikis, Ion Andrikopoulos, demanding an urgent forensic review of names and signatures submitted by the Latinopoulou party at its establishment.
The complainants contend that, according to two sworn signed depositions included in the filing, dozens of names, identity card numbers, and signatures among the 200 required by statute to be deposited by political formations upon their registration are, in the case of the Latinopoulou party, fictitious fabrications that do not correspond to authentic voters.
Specifically, they note that this information originates from individuals who served previously as close associates of Aphrodite Latinopoulou and took an active role in establishing the party PATRIDA, Aphrodite Latinopoulou.
It is noted that this entity was initially recognized as lawful, but was disqualified from the elections of May 2023 after the Supreme Civil and Criminal Court of Greece ruled on naming rights regarding the party PATRIDA belonging to then-independent MP Konstantinos Bogdanos.
Subsequently, the formation was rebranded as Foni Logikis, Aphrodite Latinopoulou, without submitting a fresh slate of 200 signatures.
The sworn testimonies declare direct knowledge of forgery and fraud, citing corroborating sources and evidentiary material placed at the disposal of the judiciary, according to the journalist's side.
www.bankingnews.gr
Readers’ Comments