Fundraising campaign by Patrick Armstrong
This website is dedicated to
rectifying the political persecution of Andreas Georgiou, who has been
unjustly subjected to an onslaught of criminal and civil suits in
Greece. This treatment arose because Andreas – from his position as
President of the Hellenic Statistical Authority (“ELSTAT”), Greece’s
National Statistical Office – insisted on keeping accurate statistics
covering Greece’s public financial situation. All of this has imposed
extraordinary hardship on Andreas and his family.
Andreas’ plight has elicited an
international outcry. Various statistical organizations and other
professional bodies from around the world have expressed their deep
concern to the Greek Government about Andreas’ treatment. A recent
statement by the American Statistical Association supporting Andreas was
signed by over 1000 individuals from around the world, including nine
Nobel Laureates. The Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and the Economist, among others, have all editorialized in Andreas’ favor.
Having served 21 years at the
International Monetary Fund, Andreas returned to Greece in 2010 to serve
his country as President of ELSTAT. He effected a massive improvement
in Greek official statistics. For example, in the five years preceding
Andreas’ tenure, Eurostat six times put reservations on Greek deficit
and debt statistics, meaning Eurostat could not certify the quality of
these statistics. In contrast, during Andreas’ 5-year tenure, Greek
public finance data did not receive any Eurostat reservations, a credit
to the dramatic improvements Andreas made.
However, this commitment to
accurate statistics led to a political backlash in Greece, fueling a
broadside of criminal and civil charges against Andreas personally.
These have included, among others, criminal charges for “false
statements and complicity against the State” and “repeated violation of
duty” as well as criminal and civil charges for “slander”.
These legal threats are very
real.For example, Andreas has already been found guilty of “violation of
duty”; he is requesting the Greek Supreme Court to annul the
conviction. Moreover, the charge of “false statements and complicity
against the State” carries a potential life sentence and the Supreme
Court is considering for a second time whether to reverse Andreas’
acquittal by a lower court. In this context, Andreas has had to retain
Greek counsel at significant expense. This saga, of multiple
prosecutions, some of which have been revived a number of times, has
beleaguered Andreas for seven years.
The financial cost has been
very difficult to bear, but the stress on Andreas and his family has
been staggering. No one should have to face such circumstances simply
for patriotically performing public service for their country. No
official statistician should be persecuted for implementing existing
statistical laws and international statistical principles and ethics in
their work.
Andreas deserves the support of
every person committed to accurate and transparent official statistics.
If official statisticians in Greece are persecuted for producing
accurate statistics, the integrity of Greek statistics will be
jeopardized. Moreover, the European Union and its economic system, as
well as its democratic values, are all critically undermined.
Furthermore, a terrible precedent is created, increasing the risks for
objective and impartial statistical production in countries around the
world, even undermining the international financial system.
We ask you to support Andreas
by speaking out on his behalf – and by contributing to his legal
defense. The funds will be transferred to an account set up only for the
legal fees of Andreas. In the case legal fees turn out to be lower than
expected, half of the remainder will be given to Elpida,
a Greek charity that works with children needing bone marrow
transplants. The other half of any potential remainder will be given to
the International Statistical Institute for use, at the discretion of its Executive Committee, in the promotion of reliable and impartial statistics.
The following links provide
more information on the persecution of Andreas, the international press
coverage of the issue, and documentation demonstrating the support shown
for Andreas by respected individuals throughout the world. Please join
us in support of Andreas Georgiou.
This link leads to the statement by the American Statistical Association.
This link leads to a collection of articles on Andreas' case, encompassing major journals in Europe and the US.
This link leads to a chronology of Andreas‘ case provided by the International Statistical Institute.
Σχετικά με τον συντάκτη της ανάρτησης:
Η ιστοσελίδα μας δημιουργήθηκε το 2008.Δείτε τους συντελεστές και την ταυτότητα της προσπάθειας. Επικοινωνήστε μαζί μας εδώ .
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