Upholding scientific integrity in Georgiou retrial

The International Science Council’s Committee for Freedom and Responsibility in Science continues to follow with deep concern the long-running judicial harassment of Dr Andreas Georgiou, former head of Greece’s national statistical office (ELSTAT), who faces a retrial on 19 September 2025 for a conviction of “violation of duty.”

This follows a decision by the Greek Supreme Court to reopen the case, in accordance with a 2023 ruling of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which found that Dr Georgiou had not received a fair trial and that Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights had been violated.

Dr Georgiou was originally convicted of “violation of duty” for not submitting Greece’s revised 2009 deficit and debt statistics to a vote by a board of non-statisticians. Submitting the data in this way would itself have contravened both EU and Greek law and undermined the professional independence required under the European Statistics Code of Practice. Moreover, Eurostat – the statistical office of the European Union – has repeatedly validated the accuracy of the contested statistics. As a result, Dr Georgiou has endured fourteen years of criminal and civil litigation not for any misconduct, but for fulfilling his professional duty to uphold scientific integrity and serve the public interest.

The CFRS considers Dr Georgiou’s case emblematic of the dangers faced by scientists and experts whose work, carried out in line with internationally accepted professional standards, comes into conflict with political agendas. His retrial presents an opportunity for the Greek judiciary to affirm that statisticians must be able to perform their professional duties free from political interference or scapegoating. Such a step would also help restore Greece’s reputation for scientific freedom and responsibility and send a clear signal to other countries currently placing political expediency above scientific integrity.

The CFRS stands with Dr Georgiou and the international statistical and scientific communities who have long supported him in calling for his acquittal and complete exoneration.

This statement follows two earlier ISC interventions on Dr Georgiou’s case: in 2021, the ISC Committee for Freedom and Responsibility in Science warned that the proceedings threatened scientific integrity in Greece and beyond, and in 2022, the Council reiterated its concern over the persistence of legal action despite repeated validation of the contested statistics by Eurostat.

We encourage you to share this update to help raise awareness of Dr Georgiou’s case and the importance of safeguarding scientific freedom.

Picture by Arthur A on Unsplash.