(GHM/IFEX) – On 7 March 2000, composer Manolis Rasoulis was given a twelve-month prison sentence (that can be “bought off” for 1,500 drs, or US$4.50 per day) for defamatory statements he made in an interview to the daily “Exousia” on 14 April 1998. Rasoulis was convicted by the three-member First Instance (Misdemeanor) Court in Athens […]
(GHM/IFEX) – On 7 March 2000, composer Manolis Rasoulis was given a twelve-month prison sentence (that can be “bought off” for 1,500 drs, or US$4.50 per day) for defamatory statements he made in an interview to the daily “Exousia” on 14 April 1998.
Rasoulis was convicted by the three-member First Instance (Misdemeanor) Court in Athens for “aggravated defamation” of singer Yorgos Dalaras. The Court considered defamatory the statement made by Rasoulis that “Dalaras did not give the benefit concert in Cyprus for free but was paid by ‘Alpha Sound’. He is a go-getter, he has created an establishment around him, and he once even tried to stifle me.”
Rasoulis was tried in absentia as he left Greece on the eve of the trial “forever,” as he declared. The Court also acquitted the newspaper, as it considered that it had no intent to defame but was only presenting the issue out of justified interest.
Once again, it should be mentioned that media freedom organisations have repeatedly denounced a vast array of convictions to prison sentences for libel in Greece. They hold that slander, libel and defamation should be covered in the civil code and that no citizens, including journalists, should face the prospect of a criminal record and a prison sentence for what they say or write.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to authorities:
– denouncing criminal trials for cases of libel
– reminding them that it is widely accepted in functioning democracies around the world that libel should be legislated in the civil code, and individuals can seek redress through the civil courts in the form of a retraction, apology or compensatory payment for demonstrable damages
– expressing the opinion that issuing prison sentences impedes the free flow of ideas and opinions and is not compatible with democratic principles
Appeals To
APPEALS TO:George Papandreou
Foreign Minister
Athens, Greece
Fax: +30 1 36 81 433Dimitris Reppas
Minister of Press and Information
Athens, Greece
Fax: +30 1 36 06 969Evangelos Yannopoulos
Minister of Justice
Athens, Greece
Fax : +30 1 77 55 835Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
