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Speaking up for Greek whistleblowers

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A passionate antiquities specialist, K. blew the whistle on malpractice he witnessed on a restoration site. The result? He was called to account and has continued to suffer retaliation since.

Sophia Ioannou explains what happened – and why urgent action is needed to protect K. and others who speak up against corruption.

 

Exterior_Salts_Transparency_Internationa

Walls stained by too much salt.

K.’s story

 

It all started when he was tasked with participating in the restoration process of a small 12th century church, which was funded by the Monastery of Makrimallis in Evoia, as well as from donations from local people. K. was sent by the local antiquities authority which had been appointed as the supervising body for the restoration works.

Press clippings indicate that a sufficient budget of €250,000 had been approved for the work – but there was little sign of the expenditure. K. observed that no architect was present to oversee the work and that a cheap, insubstantial local brand of cement was used.

 

Damage was already visible – some of the walls were stained by an excess of salt in the concrete mixture. Others were beginning to crack. He photographed the damage and reported his concerns to his superiors, asking that they investigate.

 

Pushing forward despite suffering retaliation

 

But it was K., not the contractor, who faced disciplinary action. According to his employers, he had breached confidentiality and committed “severe disobedience”. He was verbally reprimanded for “criticising the actions of a superior authority”.

 

Others might have stopped there. K. didn’t. Since then he’s petitioned the authorities to investigate − taking his calls right up to the minister − and he also sent samples off to government laboratories, confirming salt excesses in the mixture.

 

As the building damage becomes more visible, citizens and media have joined him in calling for action, and a local public assembly recently accepted a motion requesting that all damages be repaired by the contractor.

 

But like so many whistleblowers, K. is paying a price for speaking out.

 

We met K. several months ago when he came to our Transparency Now! advice centre for support. He told us he was ready to give up.

Despite being diabetic and in poor health, he’s been made to work in 40 degree heat and was recently prevented from accessing a refrigerator that stores the food and medication he needs while at work.

Several months ago, K. had to be rushed to hospital after fainting at work. He believes it was triggered by the stress he faced on the job.

 

He’s applied to be transferred several times but his requests so far have failed. Under a new law, whistleblowers who report corruption are only given protection if their case relates to bribery or trafficking of influence.

 

Interior_Oxidation_Transparency_Internat

Damage visible on the walls inside the church.

Combining forces

 

Our advice centre works with the victims and witnesses of corruption to ensure they do not have to speak out alone.

We contacted the authority asking what action was going to be taken – not only to address the complaint, but also to assure the rights of employees to speak up without fear. Meanwhile, we shared the story with the media, attracting prominent coverage.

 

A few days later, the authority informed us that a formal investigation had been ordered. Recently, K. received a formal notice that the investigation had been completed. He was warned that, in the future, he should submit all petitions and complaints through official channels only – otherwise, he could be seen as breaching hierarchy.

However, no official information has been given as to whether his allegations were found to be true, or if the outcome of the investigation revealed liabilities for officials.

In the meantime, a local newspaper has published a statement from the head of the local Antiquities Authority where she states that the contractors will be called to restore the defects that occurred during the restoration process.

 

While still waiting for the full results of the investigations, which will hopefully support the efforts of a man who took the brave decision to speak up, we’re calling on the ministry of culture to ensure K. is transferred to a different agency as soon as possible, as well as allowed to resume his former duties without fear of persecution.

We also urge the Greek legislature to reconsider the scope of the new law to cover a wider set of corruption-related criminal offences and provide more substantial protection in the public and private sector.

 

By Sophia Ioannou. 

 

Additional reporting by Maria Nini.

 

Full article found here: http://blog.transparency.org/2014/10/28/speaking-up-for-greek-whistleblowers/

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Guest eyoismos

actually there are quite a few of them

 

one that immediatly comes to mind is http://www.edosafakelaki.org/

 

"amusingly" the founder of this website, decided to go political, and actually got ellected in the last elections ...

even more "amusingly" ...under the syriza flag

 

but i just have to ask admin, pertaining to his question ....

admitting guilty in one own's transgression of the law when whistleblowing ...

, would that be "adequate proof" ? ;)

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Guest eyoismos

followups by greek governments ?

 

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA !!!!!

 

your are a regular comedian

 

any ideas about joining comedy central

 

:P

 

(yeah ... the bitterness sometimes comes through ...my apologies ... but if we dont laugh about it, we would certainly cry uncontrollably )

 

no reflection on you.... for you are 100% correct

;)

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Guest FriendofGreece

Of course, I realize. I find you funny and humble in a way, trying to skirt away when I praise the Greeks. I don't know about Irish people at all, so I can't comment. About Greeks, one thing I can say is that I am comfortable being with them. You can talk about anything and you know they can discuss with you. Greeks are also very curious about everything, a trait I did not find often in other people.

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Guest eyoismos

aaaa .. let me tell you about the irish .....

 

i have this rediculous curiosity to inquire about the most trivial of matters

 

so one day, i thought to myself .... ok ... so when the english dont understand something, they say its all greek to them

 

now i know that when the greeks dont understand, they say its all chinese to them. so i wondered ... what do other nationalities say, when they dont understand what is being said? anyways, needless to say, over many days, I approached many other  "foreign speakers" and i posed the question to them

 

here is what i came across

 

the chinese apparently say its english to them

the germans tell me that they say its all spanish to them

the italians say its Turkish to them

 

take a wild guess what the irish say?

 

and no i am not joking .... they say its all irish to them

needless to say i pissed myself laughing, thinking ... irish humor at its best

and i told the guy as much

 

he ...while laughing said ..no seriously ... (while still laughing) ... that is what we say

 

i found it really hard to believe him ... but the guy sort of explained, in a way only an irishman would, ...

no .. think irish ..think Gaelic ... i mean who speaks Gaelic anymore ... we all speak English with an Irish accent

 

you just gotta love the irish and their humor ...especially if they have topped up with some ale

 

:)

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