Society of (De)kata

Justice Minister Sotiris Hatzigakis intervened yesterday to ask for the review of a recent decision by a judge, which ordered school libraries to remove a critically acclaimed book from their shelves because it contained “disgusting and pornographic”passages.

Hatzigakis called the judge’s ruling to temporarily have Ersi Sotiropoulou’s “Zigzag Through the Bitter Orange Trees”removed from schools into question and has asked the Supreme Court to look into the decision as court of first instance justice Dimitris Gavalas is already the subject of a separate disciplinary process.

Gavalas faces being fired if the accusations that he has delayed issuing judgments in a series of cases are proved to be true.

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Greek Justice Minister Sotiris Hatzigakis is said by sources close to him to be incensed at a judge’s decision seeking to force the withdrawal of Ersi Sotirolpoulou’s award-winning book, “Zigzag Through The Bitter Orange Trees” from the school library system.

The banning of the book risks becoming the central, tarnishing episode of Hatzigakis’ tenure at the ministry, and the Minister does not appear willing to take a passive position on the issue. “A judge cannot be allowed to politicize decisions in such fashion,” he said in a meeting with aides following the publication of the judge’s decision.

In a harshly-worded letter that Mr Hatzigakis is said to be preparing, the Minister is expected within a few days to ask the head of the judicial oversight body Dimitris Kiritsakis to open disciplinary hearings on the judge over the issue of the Sotiropoulou decision.

Read the original story at TA NEA (in Greek).