You will be considered a victim of crime if you have suffered damage, e.g. you have been injured or your property has been damaged or stolen, as a result of an incident which constitutes an offence under Greek law. As a victim of crime, the law grants you certain individual rights before, during and after the trial.
Criminal proceedings in Greece start with the investigation (dierévnisi) of the crime. Sometimes the investigation is divided into a preliminary investigation (prokatarktikí exétasi) and a judicial investigation (anákrisi). The aim of a preliminary investigation is to explore the circumstances of the case and establish whether criminal proceedings should be instituted or not.
The investigation is conducted by the police and by officers of the court — the public prosecutor (eisangeléas), the investigating judge (anakritís), or both. At the end of the investigation, the police officer in charge of the case forwards all the evidence collected to the prosecutor. The prosecutor then examines the work done so far and forwards the case to the court together with his or her recommendations for how the case should proceed further.
After reviewing the case file and the prosecutor’s recommendations, the court will either order a trial or close the case.
At the trial the court considers all the evidence collected and decides whether or not the defendant is guilty. If the defendant is found guilty, he or she is convicted and sentenced. If the defendant is found not guilty, he or she is acquitted.
For further information, please refer to the following links:
1 - My rights as a victim of crime
2 - Reporting a crime and my rights during the investigation or trial
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