Bill to toughen penalties for crimes against minors

A draft law by the Ministry of Justice on tougher penalties for crimes against minors has been submitted to the Greek Parliament.

According to a statement from the Department of Justice, the bill includes a provision for a special section of the Criminal Registry for offenses under the following sections:

• 299 (premeditated murder),
• 306 (threat),
• 312 (injury to a weak person),
• 323A (human trafficking),
• 324 (kidnapping of minors).

Changes are proposed to be made:

• to Chapter 19 of the Special Part of the Criminal Code [Закон 4619/2019] on crimes against sexual freedom and sexual exploitation.
• in law no. 3500/2006 on combating domestic violence when these crimes are committed against a minor.

According to the report, these provisions are aimed at additional protection of minors in case of violation of their legal rights to sexual freedom, personal liberty, life and physical integrity. In this way, a database is created that provides additional guarantees for the protection of minors in public or private bodies, the object of which is the protection, care, treatment and education of minors.

Furthermore, these provisions are in line with article 5 of the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (Lanzarote Convention), which was ratified by Greece in accordance with Law no. 3727/2008. At the same time, the bill incorporates into national legislation the Directive (EU) 2019/884, on the exchange of information on third-country nationals and the European Criminal Records Information System.

More specifically, the new provisions facilitate the efficient, fast and accurate exchange of information from criminal records between the competent authorities of the Member States. It also aims to identify convicted third-country nationals and stateless persons so that Member States can identify them with information about their previous convictions. In addition, the free movement of people within the EU and the adoption of appropriate measures to prevent and combat crime, in particular organized crime and terrorism, are ensured.

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