(GHM/IFEX) – The cooperating organizations Greek Helsinki Monitor and Minority Rights Group – Greece express their strong condemnation of the government’s intent to introduce amendments that will severely limit freedom of speech in the electronic media. **This press release contains information further to IFEX alert of 24 August 1998** On 18 August 1998, Minister of […]
(GHM/IFEX) – The cooperating organizations Greek Helsinki Monitor and
Minority Rights Group – Greece express their strong condemnation of the
government’s intent
to introduce amendments that will severely limit freedom of speech in the
electronic media.
**This press release contains information further to IFEX alert of 24 August
1998**
On 18 August 1998, Minister of Justice Evangelos Yannopoulos announced his
intention to introduce an additional paragraph to articles 361 (on insult)
and 362 (on defamation) of the Greek Penal Code, as follows:
“A newscaster or broadcaster of a television or radio station who
broadcasts, reads or allows the broadcasting of messages with insulting or
defamatory content is punishable with imprisonment of at least two years.
The supervising Director of the employee, who gave the order for the
broadcasting or reading of that message or allowed its broadcasting is
punished as instigating principal or secondary accessory depending on the
case.”
He added that the prosecution of such cases will be at the discretion of the
public prosecutors without requiring prior complaint by the persons
allegedly offended. Moreover, he is also considering introducing fines up to
5,000,000 drs. (US$17,000) for such “crimes;” and compelling the electronic
media to broadcast full identity data of all individuals whose messages will
be broadcasted.
Yannopoulos then announced that he will bring charges for aggravated
defamation against the right wing newspaper “Eleftheros Typos” for an
editorial of 17 August 1998.
There were many negative reactions against Yannopoulos’ statements by
opposition parties, journalists’ unions, and almost all newspapers, as well
as appeals to the Prime Minister to dissociate the government from the
undemocratic initiative. However, on 24 August 1998, the government
spokesman declared that the proposed amendment is under consideration by the
government.
GHM considers the proposed amendments to be of an extreme authoritarian
nature and a violation of Article 19 of the UN Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, guaranteeing freedom of opinion and speech. Already, Greece is
the only European country where, with the existing legislation, journalists
can be and are prosecuted and convicted by criminal courts for libel,
instead of referring these matters to civil courts.
Moreover, it considers Yannopoulos’ intent to bring charges against
“Eleftheros Typos” unwarranted as the allegedly slandering editorial does
not go beyond what is generally considered acceptable criticism of the
government, especially by the case law of the European Court of Human
Rights.
GHM calls on all concerned international organizations to issue statements
condemning this development. Moreover, they should call on Greece, in this
50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration and while Greece holds the
Presidency of the Council of Europe, to modernize its legislation so as that
general laws on libel, slander and defamation be civil in nature.
Please send the statements to GHM which will assure their distribution to
local media.
