Greek Journalist Kostas Vaxevani after his arrest for exposing alleged tax cheats – Athens – Stathis Kalligeris | Demotix
The European Union has a duty to speak out against increasing censorship, writes Rohan Jayasekera (more…)
Investigative journalist Kostas Vaxevanis, whose Hot Doc magazine published a leaked list (nicknamed the “Lagarde list”) of over 2,000 names of Greeks with Swiss bank accounts, has been acquitted of breaking data privacy laws. In a video uploaded the night before his arrest earlier this week, Vaxevanis said: “They are after me instead of the truth.” His arrest drew widespread condemnation from rights groups and international media.
Greek journalist Spiros Karatzaferis was arrested today (31 October) for after threatening to publish damaging allegations about the country’s struggling economy. Karatzaferis said he had obtained information from hacking collective Anonymous, allegedly containing classified documents and email exchanges relating to Greece’s financial bailout from international funders.
According to the Greek Reporer, Karatzaferis said authorities had used an old warrant relating to a libel case to arrest him.
His arrest comes just days after that of investigative journalist Kostas Vaxevanis for exposing alleged tax cheats, signalling a worrying attack on free speech in the country.
This post was edited for clarity at 16:52 GMT on 31/10/12
The arrest of editor Kostas Vaxevanis for exposing alleged tax cheats is just the latest attack on free speech in Greece. Democracy itself is now in danger, say Asteris Masouras and Veroniki Krikoni (more…)