Greece / Europe & Central Asia

  
Police officers are seen in Athens, Greece, on November 13, 2018. CNN Greek reporter Mina Karamitrou's car was recently destroyed by a bomb in an Athens suburb. (AP/Petros Giannakouris)

Greek CNN reporter Mina Karamitrou’s car destroyed by bomb

Berlin, May 14, 2019 — Greek authorities must ensure the safety of police reporter Mina Karamitrou, thoroughly investigate the bombing of her car overnight, and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Demonstrators hold Greek flags in a cloud of tear gas during clashes at a rally in Athens on January 20, 2019. Several journalists were assaulted while covering the demonstration. (Thanassis Stavrakis/AP)

Journalists assaulted by far-right demonstrators in Greece

Berlin, January 24, 2019–Greek authorities should quickly and thoroughly investigate the assault and harassment of reporters and photojournalists at a protest in Athens on January 20 and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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A newspaper stand in Athens, in July 2017. Police detained three journalists at the daily paper Fileleftheros, after a politician filed a defamation complaint. (AFP/Louisa Gouliamaki)

Three journalists detained in Greece after minister files complaint

Athens police on September 22, 2018 detained three journalists from the daily newspaper Fileleftheros, for one day after Greece’s Defense Minister Panos Kammenos accused the paper of defaming him in an article that alleged mishandling of EU funds for migrant and refugee centers, the daily newspaper Ekathimerini reported.

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Greek police raid newspaper office

Roughly 10 police officers on January 10, 2017, raided the Athens headquarters of the Greek daily newspaper Parapolitika and arrested the newspaper’s director, Panagiotis Tzenos, Greek and regional media reported. The newspaper’s publisher, Yiannis Kourtakis, was taken into custody later that day, according to Greek media reports.

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Hungarian police try to stop a young migrant with a baby in September 2015. Journalists covering the refugee story report being harassed, blocked and sometimes attacked. (Reuters/Marko Diurica)

Journalists not welcome: Across Europe, press and migrants increasingly barred

“The press is not allowed in refugee centers.” The message from the Greek government could not have been clearer. “No permission will be given to television crews and reporters to enter such premises that hosts refugees,” Yannis Mouzalas, the minister in charge of immigration policy, said in a February 29 statement. In protest the Pan-Hellenic…

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Foreword

In Pakistan, an unknown gunman shoots a news anchor multiple times. No one is arrested for the crime, though arrest warrants are issued against the journalist–for his reporting.

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Supporters of the extreme-right Golden Dawn party raise flares as they celebrate polls results in Thessaloniki, Greece, on May 6, 2012. (Reuters/Grigoris Siamidis)

Journalists grapple with increasing power of European extremists

Athens, May 6, 2012. Journalists attending Golden Dawn’s triumphal election night news conference are ordered to stand up when the group’s leader, Nikos Michaloliakos, enters the room. “Rise up! Rise up! Show your respect!” barks the master of ceremonies, an agitated black-clad, bald-headed toughie. The journalists who refuse the injunction are asked to leave the…

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EU underscores support of free expression, but slights access to information

A new document on freedom of expression and opinion, adopted May 12 by the 28 foreign ministers of the European Union, presses nearly all the right buttons. Drawing its inspiration from international human rights norms as well as from the EU’s treaties and its charter of fundamental rights, the document reaffirms the role of freedom…

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A resident stands at the burnt entrance of a building following a series of attacks against journalists in Athens on Friday. (Reuters/John Kolesidis)

Greek journalists targeted from all sides

Greek journalists are on the alert since five small bombs exploded Friday on the doorsteps of the homes of several journalists in Athens. Although the makeshift devices only damaged the buildings’ entrances and no one was hurt, the attacks appear to be warning shots in a tense social context where journalists are increasingly in the…

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Greek government lashes out against unsavory news

New York, October 30, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the arrest and possible imprisonment of Greek journalist Kostas Vaxevanis, a troubling sign of deteriorating press freedom in the country.

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