January 23, 2025

23.01.2025 – Journalists Face Legal Challenges Following Coverage of Trial in Greece

According to The Press Project – TPP (https://thepressproject.gr/ – @thepressproject) portal, one individual convicted of fatal bodily harm resulting in the death of an activist, filed a lawsuit against Konstantinos Poulis (Κωνσταντίνος Πουλής), born 1973, for alleged “online defamation.” Poulis is journalist and editor-in-chief of TPP portal, but also a translator, actor and writer. The Press Project reported about this lawsuit on 16 January 2025.

The legal action, submitted to the Prosecutor’s Office in Athens (Αθήνα), Greece, accuses Poulis of defamation and misuse of personal data.

Poulis reported on the trial of this activist death, including the 2 October 2024 hearing where this individual plea for sentence suspension was denied. His reporting included a prosecutor’s courtroom remark, which became the headline of his article.

This person objected to Poulis’ characterization of him, claiming that a defamatory term was used. Poulis defended his reporting, stating the term accurately described this person’s behavior as corroborated by video evidence and court rulings. He also contested the inclusion of the prosecutor’s remark in the article, which led him to file a disciplinary complaint against the judicial officer. Poulis maintained that his reporting was a truthful account of the proceedings, stressing the public’s right to information on such cases.

In a related case, relatives of this person sued journalist Anna Nini (Άννα Νίνη), who is working for different media in Greece, including the 2011 founded media platform Omniatv ( https://omniatv.com/), for allegedly violating personal data protections. Nini had recorded and shared footage from a court session. Nini argued that the footage served public interest by exposing the volatility surrounding the trial and ensuring transparency. She also reported alleged verbal attacks on victim’s lawyers by convicted individual relatives following the verdict.

Both cases have raised concerns about freedom of the press in Greece, particularly regarding the use of legal actions to stifle critical reporting. Advocacy groups, including The Press Project, have highlighted the importance of documenting high-profile trials like this one to ensure accountability and transparency. More about The Press Project you can read online: https://thepressproject.gr/the-tpp-transparency-page/. TPP journalist Jenny Tsiropoulou has been awarded the VOICES environmental journalism award for her report, “Offer water to your food delivery man: The climate crisis is worsening labor rights as well”. The award will be presented during the European Festival of Journalism & Media Literacy

The legal challenges against Poulis and Nini come amid broader scrutiny of press freedom in Greece, reinforcing calls for stronger safeguards to protect journalists from harassment and intimidation in their pursuit of truth and justice.

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) will closely monitor the situation and calls on Greek authorities to ensure that journalists can work without fear of legal harassment or reprisals, reaffirming the importance of protecting media freedoms in democratic societies.

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.

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