Freedom of the Press - Greece (2002)

Status: Free
Legal Environment: 16
Political Influences: 6
Economic Pressures: 8
Total Score: 30

Population: n/a
GNI/capita: n/a
Life Expectancy: 78
Religious Groups: n/a
Ethnic Groups: Greek (98 percent), other, including Macedonian and Turkish (2 percent)
Capital: Athens

Thirteen articles in the criminal code provide for arrest and other penalties for attacking the honor of the president of Greece or the head of a foreign state that is at peace with Greece, or defamation that may lower the esteem of a corporation in the eyes of the public. Although the constitution guarantees freedom of expression, the government often ignores that right. In March, the government closed 66 radio stations in Athens, claiming they interfered with frequencies used by the new airport at Spata. This set off clamorous bids for licenses and permitted the authorities to select which news channels would be licensed, and which not. A long-running court case involving an activist accused of defamation for circulating a publication of the European Union referring to Greek ethnic questions was repeatedly postponed because the prosecutor's witnesses failed to appear.