1_95 interference 95. The Applicant Governments of Denmark, Norway and Sweden further referred to various official and unofficial statements which, in the opinion of these Governments, showed the grave situation in Greece with regard to human rights and fundamental freedoms. In particular, they stated that political parties and ordinary political activities had been prohibited and that a state of siege was maintained upholding court martials and similar extraordinary courts; that thousands of persons had been imprisoned for a long period without being brought before a competent legal authority and many persons sentenced by court martial or extraordinary penal commissions for their political opinion; that the rights to assemble or to associate freely with others had been abolished as was demonstrated by the criminal charges and resultant harsh sentences in certain cases; that the right to freedom of expression had been suppressed as was illustrated by an order of the