Former SYRIZA-ANEL Justice Minister Stavros Kontonis launched a fierce attack against Alexis Tsipras, reigniting the controversy surrounding changes made to the Penal Code in 2019, just before the government left office. Speaking sharply on Alpha 98.9 radio, the former minister sent a clear warning to Alexis Tsipras, leaving open the possibility of making their private conversations public if provoked further.
Kontonis: If Tsipras dares to tell me to “keep my mouth shut,” we’ll have a very different conversation
“If he dares to tell me ‘either give names, details and addresses, or keep your mouth shut, little bird,’ then we’ll settle this differently,” he said pointedly, sharply escalating the confrontation.
When asked about Tsipras’s claim that Kontonis’s allegations “ended up in the wastebasket,” Kontonis clarified that he never spoke about bribery — only about political matters. “He knows very well why those cases were archived, because I made political statements and in no way did I refer to any alleged, supposed, or investigated bribery of government members, of himself, or of anyone else. He knows this very well, and I’m puzzled by his decision to refer you to me,” he said.
He added that he would not make his conversations with the former prime minister public, but reminded listeners that “the provision — especially regarding bribery, but also organized crime — concerned three pending trials that the entire country was aware of. I had told him at the time: ‘If we go to Parliament with this, they’ll throw stones at us.'” When asked how Tsipras responded, Kontonis said: “I won’t reveal what he answered” — but added, “don’t provoke me any further.”
Favors were done
When asked whether the code changes were connected to those three specific cases, Kontonis responded: “The code changes were carried out by the legislative drafting committee. The Code of Criminal Procedure was satisfactory, but the Penal Code contained very serious errors. The government, which bears political responsibility, should not have proceeded with its passage — and yet it did exactly the opposite, because favors were being done.”
He stressed that if the former prime minister tells him to provide details, “we’ll have a very different conversation,” and that he would release the transcript of their exchange to the public.
“In this particular case, I spoke out so that SYRIZA members could learn and understand what had happened during that period — especially in the final hours of that government. I said it then and I’ll say it again: what took place was a disgrace for that government.”
Notably, Adonis Georgiadis shared the interview on social media, commenting: “Listen to this interview by @atsipras’s former Justice Minister, Mr. Kontonis, about the allegations he has made and the messages he has on his phone… We’ve said it, Alexis — talk about whatever you want, but leave integrity out of it.”
Ακούστε αυτή την συνέντευξη του πρώην Υπουργού Δικαιοσύνης του @atsipras του κ. Κοντονή για τα όσα έχει καταγγείλει και τα μηνύματα που έχει στο κινητό του….είπαμε Αλέξη μου μίλα για ό,τι θες αλλά την εντιμότητα άστην απέξω https://t.co/EE8BubCwxl
— Άδωνις Γεωργιάδης (@AdonisGeorgiadi) November 6, 2026
