Pavlos Polakis

A parliamentary committee tasked with probing possible political interference in the Novartis investigation was forced to cancel a planned session on Thursday after two leftist SYRIZA MPs who had been barred from the panel turned up and refused to leave. 

The special parliamentary committee tasked with probing the judicial handling of the Novartis affair cancelled its session on Thursday after two opposition MPs who had been barred from the panel turned up.

The lawyers of SYRIZA's former alternate minister of justice, Dimitris Papangelopoulos, have called for the special parliamentary committee investigating allegations that the ex-official interfered in a judicial probe of the Novartis bribery case reverse its decision to bar two prominent leftist MPs from the proceedings.

The leader of the main opposition Alexis Tsipras said on Monday he will not replace the two SYRIZA lawmakers who were removed from a parliamentary panel probing alleged meddling by former alternate justice minister Dimitris Papangelopoulos in the Novartis investigation.

Opposition SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras has sent a new letter of complaint to Parliamentary spokesman Konstantinos Tasoulas over the special committee investigating the handling of the Novartis bribery probe, sources said on Monday.

Political tensions intensified on Friday after Parliament Speaker Konstantinos Tasoulas rejected a complaint by SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras over the exemption of leftist MPs Pavlos Polakis and Dimitris Tzanakopoulos from a House committee probing alleged meddling by former alternate justice minister Dimitris Papangelopoulos in the Novartis investigation.

Parliament Speaker Konstantinos Tasoulas announced on Friday that a House committee probing alleged meddling by former alternate justice minister Dimitris Papangelopoulos in the Novartis investigation will not meet next Tuesday, as it was planned, to allow time for main opposition leader Alexis Tsipras to select the replacements for the two party MPs who were ejected this week.

Political tensions over the Novartis investigation simmered on Wednesday after former premier and SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras wrote to Parliament Speaker Konstantinos Tasoulas to complain about the exemption of leftist MPs Pavlos Polakis and Dimitris Tzanakopoulos from a House committee probing alleged meddling in the investigation.

In a letter to Parliament Speaker Constantinos Tasoulas, former prime minister and SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras complained about the exemption of leftist MPs Pavlos Polakis and Dimitris Tzanakopoulos from a parliamentary committee probing alleged meddling in the Novartis investigation.

A special parliamentary committee inquiring into the merit of claims of political interference in the Novartis bribery case removed on Tuesday two lawmakers of the main opposition, due to their status as potential witnesses in the case.
Dimitris Tzanakopoulos and Pavlos Polakis from SYRIZA will have to be replaced by two other party MPs.