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Greece

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From the Communiqué

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ARMED GROUPS SILENCING CRITICS

Armed groups in Greece are resorting to attacking media houses, non-governmental organisations and reporters themselves to silence them, report the Greek Helsinki Monitor (GHM), the South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) - an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).

MINORITY RIGHTS DEFENDERS HARASSED AND PROSECUTED

Greek Helsinki Monitor (GHM) released on 17 August 2008 a report on harassment, defamation and prosecution of minority rights defenders - including GHM - in Greece.

IFEX MEMBER BECOMES TARGET OF HATE CAMPAIGN

An anti-racism activist has become the target of a hate campaign after giving evidence in the trial of a Greek author who denies the Holocaust, reports the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT).

MEDIA'S SELF-CENSORSHIP CONTINUES

Although the Greek media were generally free in 1999, self-censorship continues to be a common practice among journalists in Greece, say the Greek Helsinki Monitor (GHM) and the Minority Rights Group-Greece (MRG-G) in its annual report of human rights for 1999. The groups state that in 1999, self-censorship was evident in media coverage of "sensitive, national issues," but was also commonplace among journalists in the coverage of the NATO air strikes in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The report, entitled "Human Rights in Greece: Joint Concise Annual Report for 1999," details cases in which journalists were prosecuted and/or imprisoned for libel, defamation and "the publication of leaked confidential documents." A number of journalists also faced assault or lost their jobs due to their work, says GHM and MRG-G. The report, however, also addresses the media's participation in or propagation of "hostility and hate speech" towards some human rights and minority organisations.