Greece To Introduce New Bill Against Racist Crimes

The government is getting ready to introduce a new bill with tougher punishment for racist and xenophobic offenses, which aims at bringing Greece in line with a European Union directive dating back to 2008. This is all well and good, but HellasFrappe highly doubts that this bill will be fair to all citizens, but then again, we must wait and see what the bill is about and how it protects the rights of citizens (especially Greek nationals).

As reorted by SKAI television, the draft legislation has been prepared by Deputy Justice Minister Costas Karagounis  and is due for public consultation in the coming weeks. All it needs now is broad support.

The bill foresees anyone found guilty of racist behavior, including in the media and on the Internet, facing between three and six years in jail and a fine of up to 20,000 Euros. These penalties, according to a separate report on Kathimerini, will also apply to acts of racist violence.