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21 May 2008 

Greece: Conscientious objector Lazaros Petromelidis sentenced to three years imprisonment in absentia

On 20 May, Greece conscientious objector Lazaros Petromelidis has again been sentenced in absentia to three years imprisonment on two charges of insubordination by the Naval Court of Piraeus. This means that there is again an arrest warrant for Lazaros Petromelidis, and he is in imminent danger of imprisonment.

Lazaros Petromelidis' case has a history of more than 15 years. He declared his conscientious objection in March 1992, at a time when Greece did not recognise the right to conscientious objection. He has been passed through a dozen trials and has been jailed 3 times. Further information on his case is available at http://wri-irg.org/co/cases/petromelidis-en.htm.

The new sentence is in contradiction to Article 14 paragraph 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: "No one shall be liable to be tried or punished again for an offence for which he has been finally convicted or acquitted in accordance with the law and penal procedure of each country." Therefore, War Resisters' International calls for the suspension of his sentence.

War Resisters' International calls on people to send protest e-mails via: http://wri-irg.org/co/alerts/20080521a.html or letters to: Mr. Kostas Karamanlis, Prime Minister of Greece Maximos Mansion ('Megaro Maximou') 19, Herodou Attikou str GR-106 74 Athens
(info@primeminister.gr)

Andreas Speck
War Resisters' International