In a landmark judgment that strikes a significant blow for the defense of the rule of law across Europe, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled against the Greek State (Hellenic Republic) over a coordinated, politically motivated campaign targeting prominent businessman and media owner Evangelos Marinakis.
The Strasbourg Court’s decisive ruling directly condemns the unlawful actions, public statements, and defamatory practices employed between 2015 and 2019 by top officials of the then-SYRIZA/ANEL coalition government, including former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, former Defense Minister Panos Kammenos, and former Justice Minister Stavros Kontonis.
A Severe Rebuke of Government Overreach and Character Assassination
The ECHR found that the Greek State committed severe violations of fundamental European legal principles, specifically highlighting breaches of the right to a fair trial and the foundational principle of the presumption of innocence. The Court heavily censured the Tsipras administration’s “reprehensible practice” of using the Prime Minister’s press office to systematically distribute anonymous “non-papers,” orchestrate media leaks, and weaponize public televised statements alongside aggressive social media campaigns.
Central to the ECHR’s findings was the government’s weaponization of false and defamatory allegations concerning the Noor 1 vessel. Mr. Marinakis had previously been completely and irrevocably acquitted of all related matters by the independent judiciary. The European Court confirmed that these baseless accusations constituted an unprecedented, state-sponsored character-assassination campaign designed to influence ongoing judicial processes.
Beyond the personal vindication for Mr. Marinakis, the Court’s ruling carries immense political and systemic weight for European democracy. It serves as an indirect but definitive condemnation of state-led efforts to steer, intimidate, or limit the independence of private media owners whose outlets refuse to capitulate to government control or narrative dictates.
Defending Legality, Media Independence, and the Rule of Law
Following the publication of the verdict, a formal statement was issued emphasizing the broader institutional significance of the victory:
“This condemnation is important for the defense of the rule of law, and we hope it will not once again prove timely. Mr. Marinakis stood up as a citizen despite the enormous personal cost of resisting the erosion of the rule of law. Through his actions, he defended legality and justice. We owe this decision to him. Our hope is that citizens will always resist and defend the rule of law, and that the state and every government will avoid the temptation of abusing power in an attempt to control the judiciary, the press, and the other institutions that form part of the system of governance.”
Legal experts indicate that this ruling sets a powerful precedent against the abuse of executive power across EU member states, drawing a hard line against the political manipulation of the judiciary and state-engineered censorship.
For an in-depth visual breakdown of the ECHR ruling, the political context of the 2015–2019 administration, and the institutional reactions following this historic legal victory, view the full report and media brief shared on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DZ8PLF_lMly/?igsh=c3NqZW94OGVtZjF3.
