Court Overturns Conviction for Pandemic Protest Ban: Disproportionate

The Court of Appeal overturned a conviction for participating in a 2020 protest, ruling the blanket ban on gatherings imposed by the Ministry of Health during the pandemic as disproportionate.

Specifically, the Court of Appeal accepted the appeal of X. A. against the Police, overturning the conviction and sentence imposed on him for participating in a demonstration on May 31, 2020. The judges ruled that the general ban on gatherings did not meet the requirements of necessity and proportionality.

The court recalled that the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression are fundamental guarantees, and that restrictions during a pandemic must be necessary and proportionate.

The Court of Appeal emphasized the inconsistency of the state, which allowed other activities under conditions, such as church services and dining, while banning demonstrations. It ruled that the state did not adequately justify why demonstrations could not be allowed with similar rules.

The decision was based on the precedent of the case "Varnakidis v. Police" and on the jurisprudence of the ECHR and the CJEU.

The composition of the Court of Appeal consisted of the Appellate Judges X. V. Charalambous, M. Papadopoulou and M. G. Pikis. X.A was represented by lawyer R. Pekri.