Andreas Pottakis

An attempt to elect a new Ombudsman has fallen through, with the government's nominee failing to secure the support of three-fifths of the members of Parliament's 30-member conference of speakers.

The nominee, Athens University politics professor Dimitris Sotiropoulos, received the backing of the 15 New Democracy members of the conference.

SYRIZA leader Stefanos Kasselakis met with Greek Ombudsman Andreas Pottakis on Tuesday. The meeting focused on constitutionally established independent authorities and the need to investigate what led to the tragic migrant boat shipwreck off Pylos. 

Kivotos tou Kosmou (Ark of the World) used cruel forms of punishment to 'discipline' its wards - including physical violence, days and even weeks of isolation and forced labor - and denied them visits with their families, according to an investigation by the Greek Ombudsman into the children's charity whose founder, a priest, stands accused of sexual and physical abuse.

Ombudsman Andreas Pottakis is calling on local authorities to stop charging council tax for properties that are untenanted and no longer have power, regardless of when they were declared as such.

It's the middle of a hot summer weekday and the streets of the Athenian neighborhood of Mets are all but deserted. Those residents who haven't escaped the city are holed up in their air-conditioned apartments and offices. I'm the first to arrive at Vyrini, the traditional taverna where I have an appointment with Andreas Pottakis, now one year into his tenure as Greek ombudsman.

After eight years of recession and increasing belt-tightening, Greece's economic crisis is showing all the signs of a humanitarian crisis, Greek Ombudsman Andreas Pottakis warns in the authority's annual report for 2016.