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An important step for conscientious objectors in Greece - Statement of the International Delegation
Thessalonica, February 19 2004

The Naval Court Martial of Thessaloniki decided today in the case of conscientious objector Lazaros Petromelidis not to be competent for trying a conscientious objector once he has been transferred to alternative service. For the first time in Greek CO history the legal dispute has been accepted that conscientious objector cases are civil cases without further court martial involvement. The legal measures against Lazaros Petromelidis have been lifted. The deposit paid to secure bail will be paid back, and no longer does he have to report to his local police station every second week. The international delegation welcomes that from now on conscientious objectors won’t be tried by court martial and will be under civilian jurisdiction for matters related to alternative service. The delegation hopes that this decision will finally, after 18 years, lead to an end of the persecution of conscientious objectors, such as repeated call-up, reporting to the police, withholding of passports, etc. However, Greece still has to solve several problems in relation to the right to conscientious objection. The Greek law on conscientious objection from 1997 needs to be amended to meet European standards, as demanded by the European Parliament and the Council of Europe. In particular, the punishment of conscientious objectors through punitive alternative service conditions – in terms of length, service far away from home, and payment of salaries which does not even cover basic costs of living – has to come to an end. The international delegation expressed its commitment to continue to support conscientious objectors in Greece.   Gerd Greune Claude Verrel Andreas Speck European Bureau for Conscientious Objection War Resisters’ International   Joint EBCO / WRI statement on conscientious objection in Greece   Here you can find the declaration, which was published on February 16 2004 before the trial of Lazaros Petromelidis in Thessalonica, in several version   English original Greek translation German translation   English original (.pdf) Greek translation (.pdf) German translation (.pdf)     war resisters’ international internationale des résistant(e)s á la guerre internationale der kriegsdienstgegner/innen internacional de resistentes a la guerra internacio de militrezistantoj 5 Caledonian Road, London N1 9DX, Britain Tel.: + 44 20 7278 4040 Fax: + 44 20 7278 0444 E-mail: info@wri-irg.org Internet: http://wri-irg.org     European Bureau for Conscientious Objection 81A Avenue Jan Stobbaerts, B-1030 Brussels Tel: +32 2 215 7908 / Fax: +32 2 2456297 E-mail: ebco@ebco-beoc.org

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