Greece: Greek and European Authorities Must Ensure the Protection of Journalists Attacked by Anti-Migrant Residents

Journalists covering the arrival of migrants on the island of Lesbos from Turkey have been attacked in recent days by residents. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) strongly condemns these major restrictions on press freedom and calls on the authorities to guarantee the safety of journalists.

In the evening of March 2, a group of residents of Lesbos threw stones at the car of German journalists Julian Bush and Franziska Grillmeier . The assailants were masked, dressed in black and carrying sticks. Belgian TV correspondent RTBF , Quentin Warlop , was also roughed up.

This attack follows three other incidents. A local correspondent for the Der Spiegel newspaper , Giorgos Christides , was threatened, harassed and prosecuted while in a car. Freelance German photojournalist Michael Trammer was seriously injured in the head and his cameras were thrown into the sea. Shortly after, he announced on Twitter that he preferred to leave the island because he no longer felt safe there. Freelance photographer Raphael Knipping, who was present at the time of the attack, was also kicked and hit with his camera tripod.

” Despite the commitment made by Prime Minister Kyriákos Mitsotákis to put an end to the violence, the situation degenerates on the ground day after day , warns Pauline Adès-Mevel, editor-in-chief of RSF. The Greek and European authorities must act immediately and effectively against this outburst of violence on the part of the inhabitants, and ensure the safety of journalists, so that they can cover these major events. These attacks must be condemned and punished. ”

These attacks primarily target members of international organizations defending migrants, accused of facilitating the landing of these new arrivals in the Greek islands. After the Athens government announced the start of construction of new reception centers on five Aegean islands to replace the old overcrowded facilities, residents opposed to the project fiercely opposed the riot police . It was in this tense context that journalists covering these clashes were in turn taken to task. This phenomenon is recurrent in Greece: journalists covering migration issues are regularly attacked by extremist groups.

The situation is no better in the Evros region, along the Greek-Turkish land border, where authorities have blocked the entry of almost 10,000 migrants in just 24 hours. CNN Greece employee Kostas Pliakos says he was hit by locals and his phone was stolen.

Greece today ranks 65th out of 180 in RSF’s world press freedom ranking