(RSF/IFEX) – According to RSF, on 1 April 1998, an Athens court sustained on appeal the prison sentence of four years and two months for “libel” and “filing a false document” against Makis Psomiadis, journalist and owner of the daily “Onoma”, and ordered that he be incarcerated. The court also refused to allow this sentence […]
(RSF/IFEX) – According to RSF, on 1 April 1998, an Athens court sustained on
appeal the prison sentence of four years and two months for “libel” and
“filing a false document” against Makis Psomiadis, journalist and owner of
the daily “Onoma”, and ordered that he be incarcerated. The court also
refused to allow this sentence to be converted into a fine, which sets a
precedent in Greece. The journalist will be referring the case to the
Council of State.
This sentence occurred following an article which appeared in February 1996,
in which the journalist accused the Minister of the Environment and Public
Works, Costas Laliotis, of having been paid a commission for awarding a
German company the construction of the new international airport in Athens.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to authorities:
reviewed
Commission on Human Rights stated that “using detention as a negative
sanction against expressing an opinion constitutes one of the most
reprehensible means of imposing silence and, therefore, is a serious
violation of human rights.”
Appeals To
Mr. Evanggellos Iannopoulos
Minister of Justice
Athens, Greece
Fax: +30 1 77 55 835
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
