Police searches for protected witness who failed to show up for parliamentary committee hearing

The head of the parliamentary committee investigating the case of former cabinet minister Dimitris Papangelopoulos has asked for the forced presence of the hitherto protected witness known by the name Maximos Sarafis as he failed to present himself on Tuesday afternoon at the hearing scheduled at the Athens police headquarters.

The police order has already been issued and officers of the Witness Protection Department are in the hunt of the first of the two protected witnesses of the Novartis investigation into the actions or omissions of 10 politicians, including two former prime ministers.

The demand for the forced presence of the witness known as "Sarafis" was signed only by the committee members of New Democracy and Movement for Change (KINAL), as the other parties disagreed with the process.

The other protected witness is supposed to testify at the...