Greek PM hits back at sex scandal cover-up claims
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Thursday hit back at accusations that he tried to cover up a sex abuse scandal involving a top theatre director appointed by his government.
Speaking in parliament, Mitsotakis said the opposition and
supporting media were dragging public discourse through a "swamp" and
spreading "poison".
The debate took place as the former artistic director of
Greece's national theatre, Dimitris Lignadis, appeared before a magistrate to
answer allegations of raping minors, including migrant children.
Lignadis, 56, resigned on February 6 citing a "toxic
climate of rumours, innuendo and leaks". He has been in police custody
since the weekend.
On Thursday, he denied ever having sex with minors, and
insisted he was not even present during the alleged incidents cited by
plaintiffs.
But after hearing from multiple witnesses, a process that
lasted all night, the prosecutor and judge agreed to keep Lignadis in custody.
A defence legal argument to the investigating magistrate,
leaked to the media, said the case against Lignadis was fabricated by lawyers
close to the Greek actors' guild, and that members of the guild board were
envious of his success.
Opposition parties have accused the government of dragging
its feet in the investigation, which could have led to the destruction of
valuable evidence.
Main opposition leader Alexis Tsipras on Thursday told
parliament the case amounted to a "major scandal involving an attempted
cover-up", accusing the prime minister of hypocrisy and other ministers of
lying to the public.
Opposition parties have called for the resignation of
Culture Minister Lina Mendoni, whom the prime minister continues to defend.
The Lignadis case is the latest in a belated #MeToo
awakening in Greece involving allegations of sexual abuse, harassment and
bullying in the fields of arts, sport and education that have rocked the
country in recent weeks.
A related judicial inquiry is under way into claims that
migrant children had been molested between 2017 and 2018.
The government has promised to introduce a new ethics code
to prevent future abuse cases.
"Nobody deserves to live in fear and silence," the
PM said Thursday, vowing to introduce tougher sentences for sex crimes.
More than three years after the #MeToo movement surfaced in
the United States, the code of silence in Greece was broken last December by a
two-time Olympic sailing medallist, Sofia Bekatorou.
Bekatorou said that when she was 21 she was subjected to
"sexual harassment and abuse" by a senior federation member in his
hotel room, shortly after trials for the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
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