21.2.13
Conscientious objector Nikos Karanikas, who was arrested on Wednesday at this house, has been summoned to Thessaloniki court martial to decide upon his case, after 17 years of persecution. The 42-year-old man has been persecuted for “insubordination” since 1995, when the right to conscientious objection was not recognized by the Greek state.
According to the union of conscientious objectors, Mr. Karanikas is accused of insubordination during 1996, after he was released from jail, when he was served recruitment documents and was later accused of desertion. In 2000 he absolved of this charge from the Thessaloniki court martial.
Later in the same year, his application to be recognized as a conscientious objector in order to complete alternative tour of duty was denied by the Veria Recruitment Office, because it considered him to have completed his military service (the time he spent imprisoned between August and December 1995).
The Conscientious Objector Union has organized a demonstration at 9am outside the Thessaloniki Court Martial. In a statement the union criticizes the “persistence of authorities” for the “political persecution that aims to annihilate a social fighter”, adding that “Greece is the most well-known EU country for violations of conscientious objector rights”.
