The Federation of European Journalists (FEJ), the largest organization of journalists in Europe, has just branded Greece’s PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis a “free speech oppressor.”
In a press release titled “Honouring the unworthy: The Atlantic Council’s dangerous missteps in rewarding free speech oppressors”, the organization which in the recent past has caused a stir in Greece with its controversial reports, expressed dismay at the decisions of the Atlantic Council to honor Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, and Mitsotakis with Atlantic Council Global Citizen Awards.
In honoring Mitsotakis and Meloni the Atlantic Council “recognized a rare few who inspire us and the world to shine, to believe in something better, and strive for something brighter, and safeguard those ideals we hold sacrosanct. They represent the very best of our transatlantic partnership and serve as beacons, guiding us toward our highest aspiration,” said Atlantic Council Chairman John F.W. Rogers.
Claim that Mitsotakis is a “free speech oppressor”
In calling Mitsitakis a “free speech oppressor,” FEJ recalls that in August 2022, a headline in Politico ran with “How Greece became Europe’s worst place for press freedom” with references to a “pro-government press” dominating and increasing threats, attacks and surveillance of journalists.
It adds that the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), a Europe-wide mechanism, which tracks, monitors and reacts to violations of press and media freedom in the EU noted that the country ranked as the worst for media freedom in the EU in the World Press Freedom Index.
It cites a report by the MFRR documenting a mission to Greece following the 2023 election victory of New Democracy which states that “Media freedom in Greece has undergone a sustained decline in the last few years, amidst the broad-daylight murder of a crime reporter, multiple threats to the safety of journalists, a sprawling surveillance and spyware scandal and numerous vexatious lawsuits and legal threats against media and journalists, with detrimental consequences for Greek democracy.”
The Atlantic Council claims to pursue the spread of freedom, democracy, and the rule of law and considers freedom of the press a vital foundation of democratic societies. However, as documented above, Prime Ministers of Italy and Greece respectively, Giorgia Meloni and Kyriakos Mitsotakis continue to seriously impede these rights, FEJ claims.
“Not only does the decision to award them the Global Citizens Awards undermine the credibility of the Atlantic Council’s stated purpose and values, but it also sets a dangerous precedent that could embolden other leaders to adopt similar repressive measures against dissent and independent journalism,” it adds.
Greece Press Freedom Index improves
Greece’s press freedom index improved, rising 19 places in 2024, but remains last among EU countries, according to the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) 2024 World Press Freedom Index released last May.
The country has risen to 88th place from 107th last year out of 180 countries and its overall score increased to 57.15 out of 100, from 55.2 in 2023. Norway, Denmark and Sweden are best-in-class, with scores ranging from 88.3 to over 91.9.
However, Greece comes last among the EU for the third year in a row. Greece is behind Qatar and Thailand, and performing worse than countries such as Niger, Lesotho and Haiti, the press freedom organization’s ranking shows.
