On 29 August 2023 Giorgos Papachristos (Γιώργος Παπαχρήστος), long-year journalist and advisor of one of the leading Greek newspapers TA NEA (https://www.tanea.gr/), became the victim of a physical assault during halftime at a football match at Athens Olympic Stadium. Reports indicate that a person approached Papachristos while he was conversing with a colleague. Without warning, this person allegedly punched the journalist in the face and head. Additionally, there were verbal threats against Papachristos.
Papachristos was later taken to a hospital in Athens for medical examinations.
The Greek government swiftly condemned the attack, emphasizing the importance of press freedom and the unacceptable nature of such violent actions. Opposition parties also denounced the assault, underscoring that attacks on journalists undermine democracy and must be unequivocally condemned. The incident has raised concerns about the safety and freedom of journalists in Greece and the need for swift and thorough investigations to bring the perpetrators to justice.
The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) condemns this attack and hopes that the attacker will be punished according to the law and that the police in Greece will take all necessary steps to secure the life of Papachristos.
South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) is a regional non-governmental, non-profit network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in Southeast, South, East and Central Europe. SEEMO members are in Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Moldova (with the territory of Transdnestria), Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Türkiye / Turkey, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. Austria, Italy, Vatican and San Marino have a special status in SEEMO. SEEMO has over 3000 individual members, and additional media as corporate members.
#fyp #mediafreedom #seemo #freespeech #southeasteuropemediaorganisation#ngo #journalist #journalistunderattack #greece #athens #GiorgosPapachristos #journalistattacked #journalistassault#SEEMO #pressfreedom #mediafreedom #freemedia @papachristosgio