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How €3 million libel suit led a Greek journalist to fight for legal change 'No other colleague of mine will have to suffer the same nightmare that I went through'

How €3 million libel suit led a Greek journalist to fight for legal change 'No other colleague of mine will have to suffer the same nightmare that I went through'

by | Sep 14, 2016 | Greece, News

One can only imagine the feeling of satisfaction and vindication that Greek journalist Dimitris Hortargias must have felt on Dec. 22, 2015, when lawmakers overwhelmingly approved critical reforms to Greece’s Press Law, widely known then as the “press killer”.

“All I was thinking on that day was that no other colleague of mine will have to suffer the same nightmare that I went through,” Hortargias said in a recent interview with the International Press Institute (IPI).

Greek editor sentenced for criticising school director’s extremist views Stratis Balaskas: “I am really worried that this sentence will prohibit other journalists from writing freely”

Greek editor sentenced for criticising school director’s extremist views Stratis Balaskas: “I am really worried that this sentence will prohibit other journalists from writing freely”

by | Sep 5, 2016 | Greece, News

“There is no worse thing for a journalist than to sit in a courtroom and hear that he has been sentenced to prison for doing his job,” Greek journalist Stratis Balaskas recounts.

Nearly two months ago, on July 11, Balaskas found himself exactly in this position after the Northern Aegean Court of Appeals confirmed a guilty verdict against him for insult and sentenced him to three months’ imprisonment.