7/30/2019 Letter on the renewed attempts to imprison Greek journalist Kostas Vaxevanis - 23 November 2012

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23 November

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Letter on the renewed attempts to imprison Greekjournalist Kostas Vaxevanis

To:

Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council

Jos Manuel Barroso, President of the European CommissionNeelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission

Antonis Samaras, Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic

IFEX signatories are deeply concerned and appalled at the renewedattempts to prosecute Greek editor Kostas Vaxevanis and the widerchilling effects of this effort to silence a journalist acting in the publicinterest, and one who has already been found to have committed nooffence.

The European Union has in the past rightly been quick to denouncethreats to media freedom in neighbourhood countries and candidatestates that seek membership. So the Unions failure to speak out on theattempts to silenceVaxevanisis worrying.

Vaxevanis was arrested last month and then acquitted of breaking dataprivacy laws on 1 November by publishing a leaked list (nicknamed theLagarde list) of over 2,000 names of Greeks allegedly holding bankaccounts in Switzerland. He now faces a re-trial at the behest of Greekprosecutors.

Under the Lisbon Treaty, compliance with the EU Charter ofFundamental Rights is legally binding on EU member states. While theCharter protects the rights to privacy and protection of personal data,those rights must be reconciled with the right to receive and impartinformation and ideas without interference by public authority andregardless of frontiers, and the obligation that the freedom andpluralism of the media shall be respected, particularly in cases such asthis where dissemination of the information at issue is within the publicsgeneral interest. EU member states and the EU are also signed up to

the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects humanrights and fundamental freedoms.

http://www.indexoncensorship.org/2012/10/censorship-greece-press-freedom/http://www.indexoncensorship.org/2012/10/censorship-greece-press-freedom/http://www.indexoncensorship.org/2012/10/censorship-greece-press-freedom/http://www.indexoncensorship.org/2012/10/censorship-greece-press-freedom/http://www.indexoncensorship.org/2012/10/censorship-greece-press-freedom/http://www.indexoncensorship.org/2012/10/censorship-greece-press-freedom/http://www.businessinsider.com/lagarde-list-of-swiss-bank-accounts-leaked-2012-10http://www.businessinsider.com/lagarde-list-of-swiss-bank-accounts-leaked-2012-10http://www.businessinsider.com/lagarde-list-of-swiss-bank-accounts-leaked-2012-10http://www.businessinsider.com/lagarde-list-of-swiss-bank-accounts-leaked-2012-10http://www.indexoncensorship.org/2012/10/censorship-greece-press-freedom/http://www.indexoncensorship.org/2012/10/censorship-greece-press-freedom/

7/30/2019 Letter on the renewed attempts to imprison Greek journalist Kostas Vaxevanis - 23 November 2012

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23 November

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The EUs failure to speak out in this case is disappointing. The Unioncan only credibly defend freedoms abroad if it does so in its ownmember states.

Further to the lettersent to the Union by Index and nine other freedomof expression defenders regarding Vaxevanis case on 5 November, wecall on the EU to defend free speech and to condemn this unwarrantedharassment and prosecution.

Respectfully yours,

Association of Independent Electronic Media, SerbiaIndex on Censorship, United KingdomInstitute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety, AzerbaijanInternational Press Institute, AustriaPalestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms, PalestineReporters Without Borders, FranceWorld Association of Newspapers and News PublishersWorld Press Freedom Committee, France

For more information contact:

Index on CensorshipFree Word Centre60 Farringdon RoadLondon, EC1R 3GAUnited KingdomPhone:+44 (0) 20 7324 2522Email:marta@indexoncensorship.org

http://www.indexoncensorship.org/2012/11/greece-europe-free-speech/http://www.indexoncensorship.org/2012/11/greece-europe-free-speech/mailto:marta@indexoncensorship.orgmailto:marta@indexoncensorship.orgmailto:marta@indexoncensorship.orgmailto:marta@indexoncensorship.orghttp://www.indexoncensorship.org/2012/11/greece-europe-free-speech/