European court slams Greece for naming and shaming HIV-positive sex workers in 2012

The European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday issued a scathing decision against Greece, rapping authorities for breaches of privacy, medical procedure and judicial due process, over a Health Ministry campaign in the spring of 2012 to name and shame sex workers who were found to be HIV positive after being forcibly tested for the disease.

The case was brought to the European court by 11 Greek nationals, 10 of whom were prostitutes who had been charged with the crime of intentionally attempting to inflict bodily harm after testing positive for HIV. The eleventh plaintiff was the sister of a prostitute, who filed suit after police published her photograph instead of her sister's.

The women in question were arrested by the police and had to undergo forced blood tests that were carried out in the police stations where they were being held. After testing positive for HIV,...