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Police Violence & Arbitrariness
Photojournalist arrested and charged whilst on the job
On 23 November 2022, during a police operation at the Refugee Center of Alexandra Avenue, police officers arrested and detained Nikos Pilos, award-winning photojournalist and member of the Foreign Press Association (FPA Greece) despite the fact that the photojournalist was present for professional purposes and informed the police of this, showing his professional identification.
He was detained for over eight hours. Criminal charges were also brought against him, including violence against officials, disturbing the peace, conspiracy to cause bodily harm, attempted conspiracy to commit aggravated bodily harm and damage to property. The photojournalist was finally released after two o’clock the next morning.
Domestic and international press freedom organisations expressed their concern, including the Foreign Press Association of Greece, condemning the obstruction of journalism by the authorities; Reporters Without Borders, asking the authorities to withdraw the unfounded charges as well as the International Press Institute which expressed concern about serious issues with press freedom in Greece.
Government Spokesman Ioannis Oikonomu described the photojournalist’s arrest as an “unfortunate incident”. He claimed that police officers were immediately instructed to release Mr Pilos, and that the incident had occurred because the journalist had failed to show his press ID, a claim which Mr. Pilos contests.
In a state governed by the rule of law, where 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 police officers unjustifiably arrested a journalist in the course of their duties.
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