The New Left party on Monday filed a criminal complaint against Kyriakos Velopoulos, leader of the far-right Greek Solution party, accusing him of inciting violence through remarks he made about boats carrying migrants across the Aegean Sea.
New Left leader Gabriel Sakellaridis and lawmakers Peti Perka and Thodoris Dritsas submitted the complaint to the Athens Prosecutor’s Office. It was also signed by party lawmakers Sia Anagnostopoulou and Euclid Tsakalotos.
During a June 10 interview on Open television, Velopoulos was asked what Greece should do about boats carrying migrants and refugees in the Aegean, including: “Do you sink [the migrant vessel] or not?” According to New Left, he replied, “You sink it,” and repeated the statement during the interview “while showing disregard for its illegality.”
The party said the complaint alleges incitement to violence under Greece’s anti-racism law, arguing that Velopoulos publicly encouraged state authorities and private citizens to commit violent criminal acts against migrants and refugees solely on the basis of their race and national origin.
New Left said no judicial action had been taken in the weeks following the interview despite what it described as racist remarks calling for violence against vulnerable migrants and refugees.
