MeRA25 has announced that its Secretary, Yanis Varoufakis, is being referred to trial on charges related to the promotion and advertisement of drugs. The party has lashed out at the decision, describing it as “yet another episode in the creeping fascization of the Judiciary” and “absolute proof of its manipulation by the government’s far-right wing.”
The charges concern comments he made during a podcast, in which he admitted he had tried drugs some 36 years ago at a festival in Australia.
“Determined not to do a Bill Clinton (remember the laughable ‘I didn’t inhale’?), I said I had,” Varoufakis said while acknowledging past use of marijuana and describing a single experience with ecstasy at a festival in Sydney in 1989. The former minister said that while the experience had initially been pleasant, it resulted in a week-long migraine that deterred him from using drugs again.
The trial is scheduled for December 16, 2026. Varoufakis faces charges under Article 24 of Law 4139/2013, which governs addictive substances.
The legal framework on drug use
The specific article cited in the indictment targets those who “incite or provoke others to the illegal use of drugs, advertise their use, or provide information on their manufacture or supply for the purpose of distribution.”
Standard Penalties: Imprisonment of at least six months and fines ranging from €500 to €50,000.
Aggravated Circumstances: If the act is deemed “professional” or done for profit, the penalty can rise to 10 years of incarceration.
The “Safety Clause”: Critically, the law states that “the expression of an opinion or scientific judgment regarding drugs does not constitute an unlawful act.”
A defiant response from MeRA25 on Varoufakis’ drug use
In an official statement, MeRA25 framed the prosecution as a political vendetta:
“In a country where judicial handling consistently breeds social nihilism and despair, the targeting of Yanis Varoufakis proves that the system—the same system covering up the truth in the cases of Tempi, Pylos, and the wiretapping scandals—has labeled our Secretary a ‘dangerous’ enemy because he speaks the truth.”
The party further argued that while the absurdity of the case has drawn laughter even from Varoufakis’s political opponents, the precedent is dangerous. They characterized the prosecution as a message from a “judiciary that closes its eyes to power and hunts those who refuse to kneel.”
MeRA25 concluded by vowing not to be silenced, promising to continue addressing the issue of addiction through “modern scientific approaches” rather than “1950s-era police mentalities.” They have called upon political forces and democratic citizens to condemn the summons publicly.
