Prosecutors have filed charges against the small-town mayor who performed the first two weddings of same-sex couples yesterday in Greece.

Mayor Tasos Aliferis performed the civil ceremonies for two couples, one gay and one lesbian, shortly after dawn on Tuesday before hundreds of witnesses that included members of the countries gay and lesbian community, journalists and island residents.

Defying the country’s justice minister, he was later charged with breach of duty by a prosecutor on the nearby island of Rhodes, under whose jurisdiction Tilos falls.

The charge carried a maximum five-year prison sentence.

The marriages were quickly dismissed as “illegal” by Justice Minister Sotiris Hatzigakis, Ekathimerini newspaper reported.

“There is no legal framework providing for same-sex marriages in Greece,” Hatzigakis said, adding that the local mayor had overstepped his authority.

“When someone tries to enforce human rights, he cannot be prosecuted for that,” Mayor Aliferis commented.

A Greek Orthodox priest described the homosexuality of the two married couples as a “curse.” The mayor of a neighboring island said the sight of same-sex couples would upset “good families” on their holidays, Reuters reports.

Greek clerics appearing on television debates on the subject expressed strong scepticism, describing homosexuality as “a deadly sin, going against psychological and biological normality.”

However, Greek media describe the official response of the Orthodox Church as “muted”, the Sophia News Agency reports.

“We are very moved and happy that we found someone to make our dream come true,” said Evangelia Vlami, one of the newlyweds and spokeswoman for Greece’s Gay and Lesbian Community (OLKE). “I am proud to be the first Greek Lesbian to get married.”

OLKE said it hoped the weddings would help change attitudes towards homosexuals in Greece, which has long preferred to turn a blind eye to homosexuality rather than acknowledge gay rights.

Vlami told Reuters her wedding took place early in the morning and two gay men followed soon after. Details had been kept under wraps until all official documentation was signed for fear the ceremonies might have been disrupted.

“This is terrible,” the mayor of the neighboring island of Rhodes, Hatzis Hatziefthimiou, told Ant1 TV. “We have good families coming here for holidays, we can’t have them coming to our beaches and seeing these kind of couples.”

The weddings were held only a few days after a senior Greek prosecutor said the mayor of Tilos would face criminal charges if he officiated; but the mayor, Tassos Aliferis, told Reuters he was determined to defend what he saw as basic human rights.

Source: Sophia News Agency, News24.com, Reuters

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