03/07/2026
⚠️ UPDATE on Zacharias Piazas case
📌Greece: Important court ruling provides protection from recruitment to conscientious objector until his case is examined.
🔎The Committee on Suspensions of the Council of State (Greece's supreme administrative court) has ruled in favour of recognised conscientious objector Zacharias Piazas (see joint press releases of 17 February 2026 and 13 March 2026), as far as it concerns his application for suspension of acts of the administration requiring him to be recruited in the armed forces, until his case is examined by the same court.
A previous provisional order of suspension had been issued, but the military authorities tried to circumvent it, by annulling an initial, manifestly illegal, call up for military service and issuing a new one.
The current ruling ordered the suspension of the decision which revoked Piazas’ conscientious objector status, as far as it concerns its part which requires him to perform military service. Furthermore, the Committee of the court ordered that, as an additional measure, the administration should not schedule a call up for military service, until another Piazas' application, for annulment of the relevant decisions of the military authorities is examined by the court.
👉 Essentially, this means that Piazas is safe until the essence of his case is examined by the court.
🟧 Die unterzeichnenden Organisationen (Connection e.V., EBCO – European Bureau for Conscientious Objection, War Resisters' International, Fellowship of Reconciliation) bringen ihre Empörung über das Vorgehen der griechischen Militärbehörden im Fall des Kriegsdienstverweigerers Zacharias Piazas zum Ausdruck, das gegen das Völkerrecht und die Anordnungen des Staatsrats, des obersten Verwaltungsgerichts Griechenlands, verstößt.
➡️The undersigned organisations (Connection e.V., EBCO - European Bureau for Conscientious Objection, War Resisters' International, Fellowship of Reconciliation) express their indignation for the actions of military authorities in Greece in the case of conscientious objector Zacharias Piazas, in defiance of international law and the orders of the Council of State, Greece’s Supreme Administrative Court.
FORCED TO TEMPORARILY DEPART FROM THE PUNITIVE ALTERNATIVE SERVICE
Zacharias Piazas, an officially recognised conscientious objector to military service, by decision of the Greek Minister of National Defence, initiated the (punitive and discriminatory) alternative civilian service, in December 2025, in an institution for chronic medical conditions in Thessaloniki, away from the region of his permanent residence, but soon found himself forced to temporarily depart because of the harsh financial conditions. The institution did not provide him with housing or the minimum resources to cover his basic living needs.
UNLAWFUL CALL UP FOR MILITARY SERVICE AND REVOCATION OF CO STATUS
Despite his written explanation to the military authorities about his inability to continue under such conditions, on the 10th of February 2026, while still having conscientious objector (CO) status, he was unlawfully, even in terms of domestic legislation, called up for military service to be enlisted on the 27th of February 2026.
On the 12th of February, the military authorities revoked his CO status. [...]
COURT ORDERS SUSPENSION OF OBLIGATION FOR MILITARY SERVICE
[...] On the 27th of February 2026, the day he was scheduled to report for military service, the President of the 6th department of the Council of State issued a provisional order of suspension of the ex*****on of the appealed decisions, as far as they concern the obligation to report for military service. [...]
MILITARY AUTHORITIES DEFY COURT ORDERS AND INSIST ON CALLING UP FOR MILITARY SERVICE
Despite that, on the 6th of March 2026, the military authorities informed Mr. Piazas that they revoke the [manifestly unlawful] call up for military service [of the 10th of February] for enlistment on the 27th of February, but he is now scheduled to report for military service in May 2026, and that he will receive a new call up for military service. [...]
The undersigned international organisations urge the Greek authorities to halt such persecution, cease calling up Zacharias Piazas, a recognised conscientious objector, for military service, immediately annul the unlawful revocation of his CO status, and provide him and all conscientious objectors in Greece with an alternative civilian service which is not punitive and discriminatory in terms of its nature, cost or duration, according to the relevant concluding observations of the Human Rights Committee."
🔎Read the full joint press release here: https://en.connection-ev.org/article-4696
