It is rare for citizens to try to take their government to court, and even more so for a Western European government to be taken to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.

But that is what one group based near the Greek capital is now attempting.

And the charges are more drastic still. It is alleged that the austerity measures introduced by Greece's government constitute peacetime genocide and crimes against humanity.

The austerity measures deprive us of our freedom. By taking away our income and our property, we don't have access to shelter, food, health and education.”

Behind the case are a mother and daughter - psychologists Olga and Tanya Yeritsidou.

But backing their campaign is a larger group, which meets every week in an Athens suburb. The youngest member is 19, the oldest in her late 50s.

These are not political dissidents or extremists, but ordinary middle-class Greeks - teachers, lawyers, physiotherapists; those hit hard by the government cuts and now taking to a highly unusual last resort.

"The austerity measures deprive us of our freedom", says Olga. "By taking away our income and our property, we don't have access to shelter, food, health and education."

Her daughter intervenes: "Austerity is pushing Greeks not just below the poverty line, but below the minimum needed for survival."

The two women began sending letters to the then Prime Minister, Costas Karamanlis, back in 2008, warning him of the likely consequences of public sector cuts.

When the next government took office a year later, they sent yet more correspondence. After filing a court injunction that was not taken seriously in Greece, they decided to appeal to the ICC in The Hague.

A toxic mix of austerity and recession has indeed brought Greece to its knees.

The country's economy is contracting for the fifth consecutive year, unemployment has soared to more than 20% - about 50% among the young.