KATERINA, ONE of the CASES of HIV POSITIVE WOMEN Greece
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https://arisa-project.eu/ KATERINA, ONE OF THE CASES OF HIV POSITIVE WOMEN Greece CONTENTS Section One Key facts of the case Section Two Applicable law This document was funded by the European Union’s Justice Section Three Programme (2014-2020) Criminal proceedings The content of this document represents the views of the authors only and is their sole Section Four responsibility. The European Commission does not accept any Disclosure of information responsibility for use that may be made of the information it Section Five contains. Media coverage Section Six Impact on the suspect or accused person and on the general public announcement and uploaded all information on Key facts of the the police website. This material was reproduced at a blink of an eye by all TV, newspaper and digital media, with hard titles like ‘the prostitutes case with AIDS’, “health bomb’ the prostitutes infected with AIDS” and remained public for a long time. On 30/4/2012 during an operation by the police at the center of Athens, 96 women were In this climate, K. with all 10 women that were apprehended and transferred to local police apprehended was prosecuted with felony stations for ID checks. There, they were charges without a lawyer and remanded in pre- mandatorily tested for HIV by doctors and trial detention for nearly a year. personnel of the Hellenic Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (KEELPNO). The results of At the other end of the spectrum, a big wave of the rapid HIV tests were disclosed to the police solidarity to these HIV positive women was built; authorities and women who were found positive new social groups were formed to support them were informed immediately about their health legally, emotionally and practically through their condition and were detained. On that day eleven ordeal. Many well established human rights, (11) women were found HIV positive and women, HIV support and drug rehabilitation remained in police detention; one of them was organisations were actively involved in reversing Katerina (hereafter K.), Greek, and aged 32. the public climate and exposing the abuse suffered through this shameful exposure by a This operation was part of a wider strategy of vulnerable group of women, all of which were both Ministries of Health and Citizens’ Protection long-term drug users, marginalised and HIV/AIDS (responsible for the police) to show hard on patients. street crime especially at the city center and also to show that they are actively addressing the The ongoing public outcry against the violation of issue of the increase of HIV infection in Greece, K. and other women’s rights, legal support as well which was brought at the forefront of publicity by as judicial scrutiny, led to a minimization of the the Minister of Health at that time. The then charges to a serious misdemeanour and their Minister claimed that the “dramatic increase of gradual release from prison. K. along with one of AIDS in Greece was due to illegal prostitution and her co-defendants claimed and won illegal immigrants”, although this claim was compensation by the State for her unlawful arbitrary and not supported by any evidence. detention. Amidst the economic crisis and a few days before national elections (held on 6th May 2012) a case was being constructed, with the strong support of In November 2014, two years after her arrest the media that foreign women working as illegal and two years before her trial, where all her co- sex workers were responsible for the increase of defendants were acquitted, K. committed HIV infection and had to be constrained and suicide. In a letter she published when she was punished. In this climate, the prosecutor issued strong on her feet she said: “the damage done to an order for the immediate disclosure of photos us will hunt eternally ourselves and our children.” and personal information of the arrestees, including sensitive medical information. Subsequently, the Hellenic Police released an Sources: To VIMA, 30/4/2012, “A. Loverdos: announced checks to all brothels”. Proto Thema, Panagiota Karlatira, 1/5/2012, "Andreas Loberdos is ringing the bell of danger. 'Health bomb' the infected with AIDS prostitutes". novasports.gr, 1/5/2012, "Twelve the HIV positive prostitutes". Astridou Evangelia, 2013, “HIV positive prostitutes: "Witch hunt" in Greece in crisis”, academia.edu. fylo sykis, Vangellio Soumeli and Dimitra Spanou, 24/5/2014, "Two years after the witch hunt: interview with one persecuted HIV positive woman". omniatv, Loukas Stamelos, 30/11/2014, “One of the publicly humiliated HIV positive women committed suicide". I Kathimerini, Marianna Kakaounaki, 14/12/2014, "Public humiliation for… life for Katerina". Lifo, Aris Dimokidis, 12/5/2016, "Yesterday Maria died at 32. Does Andreas Loverdos remember her?". news247, Christos Demetis, 12/11/2016, "The trial of the HIV positive women who were publicly humiliated with Loverdos in office starts", news247, Antonia Ksynou, 15/11/2016, "Public humiliation case: 11 HIV positive women stand trial". As regards the charges for violating Law no. Applicable law 2734/1999 on prostitution, they were rejected and dropped because of lack of evidence. K. was prosecuted for the felony of severe bodily For the misdemeanour of serious bodily harm injury with the intent to harm (art. 310 par. 3 (art. 310 par. 1 PC) the sentence provided is Penal Code) and for attempting the offence of art. imprisonment from 2 to 5 years. 310 par. 3 PC, repeatedly. Additionally, charges were pressed for the misdemeanour of practicing prostitution without permission by the authorities, in violation of art. 1, 2 and 3 Law no. 2734/1999 Criminal (A’ 161) on prostitution. a) For the felony of art. 310 par. 3 the proceedings punishment is imprisonment from 5 to 10 years. b) For attempting the crime under above (a) the On 30/4/2012 K. was apprehended by the police sentence provided in Penal Code is reduced to and detained at a police station along with many imprisonment from 1 up to 6 years (art. 42 par. 1 other women. All were subjected to mandatory and 83). HIV testing without their consent, by doctors and c) For violating Law no. 2734/1999 the sentence personnel of the Hellenic Centre for Disease provided is imprisonment of up to 2 years and Control and Prevention (KEELPNO). The results additional monetary penalty (art. 5 par. 1 Law no. were disclosed to the police authorities; K. was 2734/1999). found HIV positive and was further detained at Hellenic Police Attika Headquarters (GADA). This The penal proceeding for felonies is the main medical practice of mandatory testing violated the investigation. Following the prosecution of K. by relevant protocol for HIV testing and was in the public prosecutor of the Court of First obvious contrast with basic rights of the Instance of Athens, the case file was forwarded to arrestees. It was based on a Health Order issued the investigating judge for a full investigation of a month earlier (on 2/4/2012) by the Minister of the case (art. 246 Code of Penal Procedure, CPP). Health, Health Order 39A “Provisions for the According to CPP, at the end of the main limitation of transmission of infectious diseases”. investigation, the prosecutor makes a motion to the judicial council for a final decision on the end The next day (1/5/2012) K. was brought before the of the pre-trial process and the course of the case prosecutor, who initiated criminal proceedings (art. 308 CPP). The council, which consists of 3 and pressed charges as mentioned above. K. judges and deliberates in camera, based on the appeared in front of the prosecutor without a collected evidence, may decide to proceed with lawyer. Subsequently the case file was forwarded the case in accordance with the initial charges, to the investigating judge for the initiation of the convert the charge to a less severe crime or main investigation (art. 246 CPP). acquit the defendant without trial and end the Following the apology of K. at the investigating proceedings (art. 309-311 CPP). judge, she was remanded in custody by order of the investigating judge with the agreement of the In the case of K. the judicial council decided to prosecutor and was transferred, along with the convert the charges and refer the case to trial for other women, to Korydallos women’s prison in the offence of serious bodily harm (art. 310 par. 1 Athens. PC) which is a misdemeanour and remand detention is not applicable. The wide solidarity movement that emerged from Sources: Proto Thema, Panagiota Karlatira, 1/5/2012, "Andreas Loberdos is ringing the bell of danger. 'Health bomb' the infected with AIDS prostitutes". news247, Christos Demetis, 12/11/2016, "The trial of the HIV positive women who were publicly humiliated with Loverdos in office starts". I Kathimerini, Ioanna Mandrou, 16/12/2016, "Innocent the HIV positive women who were arrested in 2012". VICE, Anna Nini, 4/11/2016 with update 16/12/2016, "The justification of HIV positive women came four years late. The trial of the women who were traduced four years ago started". the first day that the pictures of women and their whom K., filed a complaint to the prosecutor personal information were circulating in all TV against the doctors of KEELPNO for unlawfully channels, newspaper,s and the internet (see more proceeding with mandatory HIV testing and for below under sections 4-6) resulted in violating the confidentiality of their medical considerable immediate support to the detained records, with the support of the above four women. Four (4) organisations working for people organisations which also signed the complaint. In living with HIV/AIDS (Centre for Life, Praksis, a subsequent complementary memorandum, the Positive Voice and Act up) quickly mobilised legal applicants asked for a criminal investigation to be support in order to offer proper defence and take widened in order to include the President, the all necessary legal actions to protect K.’ and other Director, and the members of the Directory Board women’s rights.