The plenary session of the European Parliament adopted a decision for the second time in favor of lifting immunity Member of the European Parliament Ioannis Lagu.

In particular, the European Parliament

– having regard to the motion of the Prosecutor of the Supreme Court of 8 December 2021, with which the motion of the Attorney General of Athens was filed to lift the immunity of Ioannis Lagos in connection with criminal proceedings, and which was announced in plenary session on 14 February 2022,

– having heard Ioannis Lagos in accordance with Article 9, paragraph 6, of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to Articles 8 and 9 of Protocol No. 7 on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union and Article 6, paragraph 2, of the Law of 20 September 1976 on the election of members of the European Parliament by direct and universal suffrage,

– subject to the judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union of October 21, 2008, March 19, 2010, September 6, 2011, January 17, 2013 and December 19, 2019.[1],

– having regard to Article 62 of the Constitution of the Hellenic Republic,

– having regard to Article 5(2), Article 6(1) and Article 9 of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the report of the Legal Affairs Committee (A9-0053/2023),

A. Considering that the Athenian Prosecutor’s Office of First Instance requested that the immunity of Ioannis Lagos, Member of the European Parliament elected from Greece, be lifted in order to initiate criminal proceedings against him in connection with the posting published by Ioannis Lagos on social networks. Twitter platform;

B. Whereas December 6, 2020 Ioannis Lagos posted on his Twitter account, along with a photo of a Jewish monument in Larisa, a message that allegedly contained racist comments. and indirect promotion of behavior that may lead to discrimination, hatred and violence;

C. whereas on December 8, 2020, the Hellenic Observatory of the Helsinki Accords filed a lawsuit against Ioannis Lagos in connection with his posting on Twitter;

D. Considering that Ioannis Lagos, by posting on Twitter, is accused of committing the crime of public incitement to violence and hatred against individuals identified on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, in a manner that jeopardizes public order and creates a threat to the physical integrity of the above persons, which is a criminal offense in accordance with paragraph 1 of Article 1 of the Law. 927/1979 as amended by Article 1 of Law 4285/2014;

E. considering, on the one hand, that Parliament is not a court of general jurisdiction, and, on the other hand, that a member of Parliament cannot be considered “accused” in the context of the immunity procedure[2]·

F. Considering that parliamentary immunity is not a personal privilege of a member, but is a guarantee of the independence of Parliament as a whole and of its members, and that parliamentary immunity is intended to protect Parliament and its members from legal proceedings relating to activities which are carried out in the exercise of parliamentary duties and are inextricably associated with these responsibilities;

G. Whereas the contested message and the contested image were not published on the Twitter account of Ioannis Lagos linked to his official profile as a member of the European Parliament;

H. Whereas the alleged offenses do not concern an opinion or a vote given by Ioannis Lagos in the exercise of his functions as a Member of the European Parliament within the meaning of Article 8 of Protocol no. 7 on the privileges and immunities of the European Union;

I. Considering that, as provided for in Article 9 of Protocol No. 7 on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union, Members of the European Parliament shall enjoy in their territory the immunities accorded to Members of the Parliament of their country;

I. Whereas Article 62 of the Constitution of the Hellenic Republic provides, inter alia, that during the term of office of a Member of Parliament, no one may be prosecuted, arrested, imprisoned or otherwise restricted without the permission of the Chamber;

I. Whereas, in the present case, Parliament has not found evidence of a fumus of persecution, i.e. factual evidence indicating that the persecution is aimed at obstructing the political activities of a Member and therefore of the European Parliament;

1. decides to lift immunity from Ioannis Lagos;

2. Instructs its President to immediately forward this decision and the report of his competent committee to the competent authority of the Hellenic Republic and Ioannis Lagos.

Source: RES-IPE