The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) joined eight other international press freedom organizations in support of journalists and media outlets in Greece ahead of a series of abusive lawsuits filed by Grigoris Dimitriadis, former general secretary and the nephew of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
Dimitriadis filed two lawsuits against newspaper EFSYN and online investigative portal Reporters United and their journalists, requesting a total of 555,000 euros (USD598,000) in compensation and damages after, in June 2022, the outlets published revelations about Dimitriadis’ connection to the surveillance scandal at a time when he oversaw the National Intelligence Agency. The first hearing will be held in an Athens court on January 25, 2024.
“The undersigned international freedom of expression and media freedom organisations today renew our condemnation of a groundless defamation lawsuit filed against Greek journalists and media by Grigoris Dimitriadis, the nephew of the Prime Minister, and urge the plaintiff to urgently withdraw the lawsuit ahead of an upcoming hearing,” the statement said. “Rather than being targeted by financially and psychologically draining lawsuits, both Reporters United and EFSYN instead deserve credit for their watchdog reporting.”
Read the full statement here.