(GHM/IFEX) – On 3 March 2000, world-renowned violinist Leonidas Kavakos was given a four-month suspended prison sentence for defamatory statements he made in an interview. Kavakos was convicted by the three-member First Instance Court in Salonica, and for defamation of three members of the artistic board of the Salonica State Orchestra. He was ordered to […]
(GHM/IFEX) – On 3 March 2000, world-renowned violinist Leonidas Kavakos was given a four-month suspended prison sentence for defamatory statements he made in an interview.
Kavakos was convicted by the three-member First Instance Court in Salonica, and for defamation of three members of the artistic board of the Salonica State Orchestra. He was ordered to pay a fine of 200,000 drs (approximately US $600) for damages to each of the plaintiffs. The defamatory statements were made by Kavakos during a March 1999 interview in a local newspaper. Kavakos appealed the sentence.
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, even if they are subsequently suspended, impedes the free flow of ideas and opinions, and is not compatible with democratic principles
Appeals To
George Papandreou
Foreign Minister
Athens, Greece
Fax: +30 1 36 81 433
Dimitris Reppas
Minister of Press and Information
Athens, Greece
Fax: +30 1 36 06 969
Evangelos Yannopoulos
Minister of Justice
Athens, Greece
Fax : +30 1 77 55 835
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
