The judicial summons of journalist Vangelis Triantis and the editor of the newspaper Documento, Kostas Vaxevanis for possibly publishing official secrets has raised concern in national and international journalist unions.
The summons of the two journalists, which took place in early November 2023, followed Documento’s publications of a report by the Special Secretariat for Financial and Economic Crime Unit (SDOE), which found a loss of two million euros to the Greek state resulting from the General Secretary for anti-crime policy, Sofia Nikolaou, directly awarding public contracts during the pandemic.
Given that the publication concerns how public funds are used by the authorities, this may be considered a matter of public interest in which the public has a legitimate interest in being informed.
On 6 November 2023, Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), a pan-European initiative monitoring violations of press freedom, issued a statement on the incident, describing it as a violation of “media freedom” and noting that a judicial investigation “could lead to journalists facing serious criminal charges”.
Following the testimony of the two journalists, which was scheduled for November 9, the judiciary will decide whether or not to bring criminal charges against them.
The Council of Europe’s Platform for the Safety of Journalists also took a stand on the issue, calling for the investigation to be dropped, and for the protection of journalistic sources to be upheld.
The Journalists’ Union of Athens Daily Newspapers has also issued a statement, again underlining journalists’ obligation to protect their sources, and commenting that, “A journalist cannot operate under the Damocles sword of a possible accusation for the offence of using official documents. A journalist must publish the information he or she possesses, while of course respecting the rules of journalistic ethics, as he or she is obliged to consider it his or her primary duty to society and to himself or herself to publish the truth and to serve the public interest. Without the publication of information and facts there is no journalism.”
Under the rule of law, where both individual rights and freedom of the press are protected, journalists have the right to freely and independently exercise their profession, free from censorship and influence. Despite the guarantee of freedom of the press under Article 14 of the Constitution, in this case two journalists were summoned by the judiciary, and may face prosecution for the offence of publishing official secrets, even though the information they published was in the public interest and concerns the manner in which public funds were spent during the pandemic.
Bank Account number: 1100 0232 0016 560
IBAN: GR56 0140 1100 1100 0232 0016 560
BIC: CRBAGRAA
In a time where the very foundations of democracy are gradually being eroded by the rise of extreme nationalism, alt-right movements, the spread of disinformation and corporate capture, the efforts of organisations such as Vouliwatch are more relevant than ever.
We rely on the generosity of each and every one of you to continue with our efforts for more transparency and accounta
By financially supporting Vouliwatch you support our litigation strategy, our campaigns for transparency and accountability in the political system, the development of new civic tech tools, our research projects and last but not least our impartial and accurate
