MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th August, 2022) The Foreign Press Association (FPA) of Greece on Wednesday urged Greek government spokesman Yannis Oikonomou to refrain from publicly attacking and trying to discredit journalists.
Earlier in the day, Oikonomou made a claim that a report in Politico written by FPA Board President Nektaria Stamouli on the Greek wiretapping scandal was inaccurate and made by a journalist "known for her relations with SYRIZA."
"We have noted with great surprise and disappointment today's response by the government spokesman Yannis Oikonomou to a report by an FPA member and president of the board, Nektaria Stamouli. Mr. Oikonomou describes as 'absolutely inaccurate' an article signed by Nektaria Stamouli in Politico, regarding the written response of Greece's permanent representative to the EU to the Commission's Directorate General for Justice on Predator spyware. The government spokesman adds that the publication comes from a journalist 'known for her relations with SYRIZA,'" the association said on the website.
The association said that every citizen can decide whether Stamouli's report is 'inaccurate' or not, adding that Oikonomou "in the same statement confirms word for word what is mentioned in the report."
"Most importantly: The FPA considers it inappropriate for a minister of an EU country, and particularly the one responsible for media and the press, to publicly target and professionally discredit a journalist. Without any evidence and with the sole visible aim of discrediting a report for political expediency and completely disregarding the potential professional and personal consequences of this targeting," the association said.
The association added that Stamouli respects journalistic ethics and that she has never been a member of any political party or a government agency. Therefore, the FPA is expecting Oikonomou to make "a public acknowledgment of his mistake" and retract his "personal targeting" of Stamouli.
A political scandal erupted in Greece in late July regarding the wiretapping by Predator spyware of the mobile phone of Nikos Androulakis, the leader of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement, and the surveillance of journalist Thanasis Koukakis. The Greek prime minister's general secretary, Grigoris Dimitriadis, and the head of the National Intelligence Service, Panagiotis Kontoleon, were dismissed amid the scandal. Greek media called the case "Kyriakos-gate" and "Greek Watergate" by analogy with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the well-known political scandal of 1972-1974, which ended with the resignation of US President Richard Nixon.
