Greece: Acquittal for CO at military court on procedural grounds

The conscientious objector K.K., whose 2003 application for CO status and to perform an extremely punitive alternative civilian service of 30 months (instead of 12 months of military service) had been rejected by the Minister of National Defence, as well as his appeal by the highest administrative court, and who was facing trial by military court at the age of 45 for insubordination, was finally acquitted. According to an Amnesty International Greece facebook post, the military court accepted the proposal of the prosecutor to acquit K.K. because of an invalid call-up for military service, as it had been issued before he was notified about the rejection of his appeal by the Council of State, the highest administrative court of Greece.

However, the acquittal does not automatically annul the separate administrative fine of 6,000 euros imposed on K.K. for insubordination, which has led to confiscation from his bank account.

War Resisters International calls for the immediate annulment of the administrative fine and the return of the amount of money which has been confiscated. Furthermore, Greece should promptly bring its legislation regarding conscientious objection in line with international human rights law and standards.