Ex-PM Antonis Samaras to name names in Novartis case probe

Former premier Antonis Samaras is to testify before a Supreme Court prosecutor on Tuesday in an ongoing probe into the handling of bribery claims against high-ranking politicians.

Samaras is expected to name political rivals he says manufactured the case against him, in which he and another nine politicians were accused of accepting bribes from drugmaker Novartis. This would prompt a discussion in Parliament over whether those politicians' immunity from prosecution should be lifted.

Testifying on Monday, European Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos spoke of a "sinister case" and expressed his "trust in the justice system to shed light on this plot."

Another former minister, Evangelos Venizelos, is due to testify on Wednesday.