Halt the persecution of Andreas Georgiou

In view of the hearing before the Greek Supreme Court scheduled for 16 January 2023 concerning Andreas Georgiou, the International Statistical Institute, the American Statistical Association and the Royal Statistical Society call upon the Greek authorities to halt his persecution. Doing so would show that Greece embraces the international statistical principles enshrined in the UN Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics and in the European Statistics Code of Practice. It would also signal that Greece chooses accurate and impartial statistics, which are all manifestly in the interests of Greece, the EU and the whole world.

Reference is made to previous ISI, ASA and RSS statements and in particular the joint letter to the Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic of 7 October 2021 (ISI statement and ASA statement and RSS statement), in which the background and arguments in defence of Andreas Georgiou have been set out in detail.

There is more at stake here than the persecution of one individual official statistician. Official statistics themselves, as well as human rights, are on trial. We urge that Greece does the right thing for the sake of official statistics, not only in Greece, but worldwide.