Reporters Without Borders (RSF) will travel to Greece from October 9-11 to discuss the critical press freedom situation, which has tested the conservative New Democracy (EPP) government.

According to the World Press Freedom Index for 2022, Greece is the worst country in the EU for press freedom, but recent developments, including surveillance of journalists, have made the situation even worse.

“The right to information in Greece, a key European country, has suffered terrible setbacks. Finding remedies is all the more urgent as European democracies face the Russian propaganda war,” Pavol Szalai, head of RSF’s EU/Balkans desk, told EURACTIV.

Szalai said the mission would focus on the freedom, independence and sustainability of the press during iMedD’s International Journalism Week.

“In my subsequent meetings with journalists and authorities, I will discuss the problems, but also possible solutions, while focusing on issues such as the surveillance of journalists and the stalled investigation into the 2021 murder of reporter Giorgos Karaivaz,” he added.

It is set to get worse next year after it was revealed that the Greek secret service had tapped the phones of several investigative journalists. Some journalists have reported that their phones were infected with the illegal Predator spyware.

The government admitted Secret Service activities but denied purchasing Predator. She also refuses to reveal the reasons why these people were under surveillance.

“Citizens need to know if and why they are being watched by the state,” European Commission Věra Jourová told the investigative news site insidestory.gr in an interview.

The spyware scandal escalated when socialist opposition leader Nikos Androulakis filed a complaint with the prosecutor over an attempt to tap his phone with Predator.

A few weeks later, the government admitted that the Secret Service had also tapped his phone.

“What has been revealed so far is just the tip of the iceberg,” a source familiar with the matter told EURACTIV.

Predator’s latest victim was Christos Spirtzis, a former minister and lawmaker for the main left-wing opposition party Syriza.

Thanasis Koukakis, an investigative journalist victimized by Predator, told EURACTIV last month: “My case shows how fragile the defense of civil rights in a European democracy can become and how easily, thanks to these highly sophisticated, governments and other parties may violate these rights.

Finally, the commission set up by the European Parliament to investigate the spyware and surveillance software scandal, known as PEGA, is due to travel to Greece and Cyprus to interview key witnesses on the ground.

(Sarantis Michalopoulos | EURACTIV.com)