Athens, 7th of October 2015
Dr. Argyris Argyriades
We have systematically clarfied that the penalization of family relations and their use to reinforce an indictment is a constitutional construct that characterizes totalitarian regimes. It constitutes the most barbaric institutional process and practice.
Another typical example is the new ”grand success” of the police in the arrest and detention of Mrs Maria Theofilou, a young mother of two toddlers (aged two and four) who is indicted on charges of being an accomplice of her partner and father of her children. This is a flagrantly unlawful prosecution of a relative which has taken place despite the law prepared by Minister of Justice Nicos Paraskevopoulos, that forbids this kind of treatment against relatives.
We consider the violent removal of the mother away from her children a psychologically pressurizing event bearing traumatic consequences to the mother as well as the children, since it contributes to separation anxiety. The dependence of toddlers at the age of two and even four on their mother is a very normal response based on the instict of survival. Children internalize the safety that stems from the mother’s love and care, a process that was disrupted abruptly in this case. As the counter-terrorism unit raided the home of Maria’s parents, her mother was forced to arrange that the children stayed away at a local park for four hours, which only made the situation worse.
We insist once again that the case against Mrs Maria Theofilou is the practical expression of institutional retribution of justice. It is obvious that her prosecution and detention resulted from her family relations. According to anthropologists all people are relatives of each other, which is why Maria’s case is relevant to all of us.
We demand the immediate release of Maria Theofilou in order for her to reunite with her two children.
source: mpalothia
translation:blackcat
