>**On 30 June 2022, the Judicial Council of the Supreme Court ruled that all allegations made against the journalists were baseless and declined to send them to full trial at the Special Court.** The four journalists were: Kostas Vaxevanis, a veteran investigative journalist and publisher of Documento newspaper, Ioanna Papadakou, a former investigative journalist for To Vima newspaper, Ioannis Filippakis, publisher of newspaper Dimokratia and Alexandros Tarkas, a reporter at Dimokratia.
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>**In our view, the evidence presented against the journalists lacked substance or legitimacy from the outset.** Each of the journalists has expressed concern that the charges against them were a politically motivated attempt to criminalise them and punish their media outlets for years of hard-hitting investigative reporting.
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>**The criminal nature of the charges, their connection to reporting on corruption, and the potential imprisonment of journalists in an EU Member State, raised major concerns amongst our organisations and at the European level, all at a time when Greece was already in the spotlight over a decline in press freedom under the New Democracy government. These criminal charges were among the most serious levied against members of the press anywhere in the EU at that time.**
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>**While the news of their acquittal is welcome, we are deeply concerned by the pressure faced by the journalists during the proceedings. Comments made by certain politicians and in particular Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis – who referred to some of the journalists as a “gang” in parliament – were deeply regrettable.** This pressure has taken a serious psychological toll on all of those involved. Meanwhile, an MEP who spoke out publicly against the criminal charges and raised concern about the freedom of the media was expelled from the party.
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>*Signed by:*
>
>*European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)*
>
>*European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)*
>
>*International Press Institute (IPI)*
>
>*OBC Transeuropa (OBCT)*
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>*This statement was coordinated by the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), a Europe-wide mechanism which tracks, monitors and responds to violations of press and media freedom in EU Member States, Candidate Countries and Ukraine.*
1 comment
>**On 30 June 2022, the Judicial Council of the Supreme Court ruled that all allegations made against the journalists were baseless and declined to send them to full trial at the Special Court.** The four journalists were: Kostas Vaxevanis, a veteran investigative journalist and publisher of Documento newspaper, Ioanna Papadakou, a former investigative journalist for To Vima newspaper, Ioannis Filippakis, publisher of newspaper Dimokratia and Alexandros Tarkas, a reporter at Dimokratia.
#
>**In our view, the evidence presented against the journalists lacked substance or legitimacy from the outset.** Each of the journalists has expressed concern that the charges against them were a politically motivated attempt to criminalise them and punish their media outlets for years of hard-hitting investigative reporting.
#
>**The criminal nature of the charges, their connection to reporting on corruption, and the potential imprisonment of journalists in an EU Member State, raised major concerns amongst our organisations and at the European level, all at a time when Greece was already in the spotlight over a decline in press freedom under the New Democracy government. These criminal charges were among the most serious levied against members of the press anywhere in the EU at that time.**
#
>**While the news of their acquittal is welcome, we are deeply concerned by the pressure faced by the journalists during the proceedings. Comments made by certain politicians and in particular Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis – who referred to some of the journalists as a “gang” in parliament – were deeply regrettable.** This pressure has taken a serious psychological toll on all of those involved. Meanwhile, an MEP who spoke out publicly against the criminal charges and raised concern about the freedom of the media was expelled from the party.
#
>*Signed by:*
>
>*European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)*
>
>*European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)*
>
>*International Press Institute (IPI)*
>
>*OBC Transeuropa (OBCT)*
#
>*This statement was coordinated by the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), a Europe-wide mechanism which tracks, monitors and responds to violations of press and media freedom in EU Member States, Candidate Countries and Ukraine.*