Greece scores lowest in EU on press freedom

For the second year in a row, Greece received the lowest score in the European Union (EU) for media and press freedom.

In its report titled “Greece stuck at the bottom of the EU in Freedom of the Press,” Human Rights Watch (HRW) noted that “the country has experienced several setbacks, including wiretapping scandals and the murder of journalist Giorgos Karaivaz.”

Reporters Without Borders' findings were quoted in the report as saying: “Concerns about restrictions on media freedom and an increasingly hostile environment for civil society in Greece are not new. They've been piling up for a while and are raising the alarm about the rule of law in the country."

MEDIA FREEDOM IS AT RISK

Mary Lawlor, the UN Special Rapporteur on the plight of human rights defenders, came to the same conclusions on press freedom after visiting Greece in June 2022.

Noting that "free media and a vibrant civil society are the cornerstones of a functioning democratic country," HRW calls on candidates for the 21 May elections to commit to restoring the country's media freedom if elected.