Family of Greek journalist who survived over 100 SLAPPs, physically attacked

In another incident demonstrating the precarious situation for Greek journalists’, investigative reporter Kostas Vaxevanis – also a nominee for the Daphne Caruana Galizia prize – and his family were verbally and physically attacked on Friday by a businessman whose name was mentioned in the “sinful” Lagarde list, which contained roughly 2,000 potential tax evaders and was revealed in 2012 by the journalist.

Vaxevanis was eating with his family and his eight-year-old daughter at a restaurant last Friday when the businessman approached the table and started swearing at him.

According to the journalist, the verbal attack turned into physical violence. The businessman tried to hit the wife of Vaxevanis, who had the child in her arms, and when her mother tried to stop his attack, she was punched in the face.

“I was attacked because I did my job. The Lagarde list contained 2,062 names of Greek depositors at the Swiss bank HSBC, which Christine Lagarde handed over for the Greek government to investigate for possible tax evasion. The Greek government then hid the list. When I exposed it, I was ordered to be arrested for punishment. I was taken to court in handcuffs and fortunately acquitted and awarded two international awards,” Vaxevanis told EURACTIV.

For the journalist, the fact that 11 years later, a person on that list attacked him is not unrelated to the current circumstances.

“Investigative journalism and my journal Documento have been targeted by the Greek government for our revelations. The prime minister himself called me in the parliament, like other journalists, a criminal, for the revelations about the Novartis scandal, and my prosecution was planned. Political figures are constantly making methodical lawsuits to intimidate me”, he said.

Over 100 SLAPPs

Vaxevanis has received over 100 so-called “strategic lawsuits against public participation” (SLAPPs) for his work and has won all of them.

Just last month, he was acquitted after a lawsuit brought against him by former minister of justice Charalambos Athanasiou, because he revealed that the minister had pardoned drug dealers.

“When I was acquitted, he [the minister] announced that the Prosecutor’s Office will file an appeal against the court decision,” Vaxevanis said.

According to the Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Greece ranks 107th when it comes to media freedom and performs worst among EU member states.

“We condemn the cowardly verbal and physical attack on Kostas Vaxevanis and his family. Following the publisher’s complaint, the authorities must swiftly bring the perpetrator to justice. We also demand all Greek political parties which consider themselves as democratic to firmly condemn the assault all the more worrying that it targeted also Vaxevanis’ family,” Pavol Szalai, RSF Head of EU/Balkans Desk, told EURACTIV.

Szalai added that this was the second time a Greek media professional has been endangered in less than a month. He mentioned the case of journalist Lefteris Charalambopoulos who received a serious threatening phone call after he criticised a famous Greek football club in an article.

“We consider it very serious that powerful people feel they can shamelessly threaten journalists in impunity. The Greek politicians and justice have to make it clear that in a democratic country this is completely unacceptable,” Szalai noted.

The Union of Editors of Athens Daily Newspapers, main opposition Syriza party and the communist party condemned the attack. On the other hand, the ruling New Democracy party (EPP) and socialists (Pasok) did not make any official announcement.

From the government, only Labour Minister Adonis Georgiadis – frequently criticised by Vaxevanis – publicly condemned the assault.

“Assaulting a person, whether verbal or otherwise in front of his family and young child, is reprehensible without ‘buts and footnotes’ […] We stand with Kostas Vaxevanis on this, and I do not accept any such talk”, Georgiadis said.

Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize

Meanwhile, Vaxevanis has been nominated for the Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism for his revelation of a list containing over 100 names of ministers, army chiefs, journalists, politicians and institutional actors whose phones were bugged with the illegal Predator spyware in the so-called “Greek Watergate”.

Although the government in the beginning called Vaxevanis a “liar”, Greece’s two independent privacy watchdogs then confirmed the list, the journalist said.

Read more: Privacy watchdog finds 92 ‘targets’ in Greek wiretapping scandal

Vaxevanis stressed that the illegal spyware was used “in combination” with the Greek secret services, which are under the personal control of the Greek prime minister.

For its part, the government insists that it has never purchased Predator although over a year after the scandal was revealed, the judicial investigation has led nowhere.

“This nomination is a great honour for me. Shortly before the criminals in Malta blew up Daphne’s car, with Daphne and 17 other colleagues, we had given interviews as fighters for freedom of the press, in a joint publication of the Council of Europe. The book was published by the Council of Europe unfortunately after the tragic death of Daphne,” Vaxevanis said.

“The disclosure of this system of internal espionage by the government was actually aimed at creating a blackmail system, which is currently active in Greece and threatens democracy. My nomination for an award in memory of Daphne and indeed for such a revelation, honors me greatly,” Vaxevanis concluded.

(Sarantis Michalopoulos | EURACTIV.com)