Violent attacks against Greek journalists’ union 

by Aggelos Skordas

Journalists’ Union of Macedonia and Thrace Daily Newspapers (ESIEMTH) and Thessaloniki’s municipal TV100 and FM100 offices were attacked by unknown assailants on Wednesday and Thursday, while one journalist was injured. On Wednesday noon the attackers reached the local stations’ headquarters in downtown Thessaloniki and within minutes destroyed municipal vehicles as well as the building’s facade, as they did not manage to go beyond the entrance. During the assault one technician was hit with a crowbar and was transferred to the hospital with light injuries, while a similar attack took place on Thursday at the nearby ESIEMTH headquarters.

Some ten hooded assailants invaded the union’s building and destroyed computers, TVs, printers and other journalistic equipment, threatening the staff not to react to their “intervention”. The intruders threw paint and leaflets with slogans against journalists reading: “A broken TV station for every evening news bulletin” and “Journalists, you ruffians”.

The International and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ/ IFJ) -of which ESIMETH is an affiliate- issued statements condemning the attacks targeting the freedom of speech and announced that both federations will report the violent incidents to the Council of Europe platform for the safety of journalists. “We are all shocked to hear about this awful unprecedented attack against our affiliate in Thessaloniki, the ESIEMTH, something that has never happened to any of our unions throughout Europe”, EFJ President Mogens Blicher Bjerregard said, adding that “attacking journalists’ organizations is like attacking all journalists”.

On his behalf, the President of IFJ Philippe Leruth stressed: “This attack is threatening free trade unions and freedom of opinion which are fundamental values of democracy. By attacking our friends at ESIEMTH and other media in Thessaloniki, the attackers hoped to silence them. They should know that they won’t succeed. The IFJ expresses its strongest solidarity with its Greek colleagues and demand judicial authorities on the ground to investigate the case and severely punish the perpetrators of these attacks.”

It should be noted that until late Thursday the Greek authorities have failed to prosecute or even identify the attackers.