Greek journalists are concerned that freedom of the press is suffering the "worst attack of all times" and the public television workers of the country ERT have begun to protest after the eviction of two presenters. Last week, Marilena Katsimi and Kostas Arvanitis, presenters of ERT’s morning programme, referred to the Minister of Public Order, Nikos Dendias, in stating that the coroner’s report confirmed that anti-fascist protesters had suffered police torture, despite what the minister said about it. In this sense, the possibility of Nicolás Dendias resigning as secretary-general of the Purple Formation was also discussed. The answer has been immediate: both have been fired for making “unacceptable suggestions”. One day earlier, the journalist of Weekly Hot Doc Kostas Vaxevanis was arrested in the court on charges of publishing a list of some 2,000 suspected tax fraud scammers. The list includes the names of Greeks holding accounts in Swiss banks, and the journalist faces a two-year prison petition.

In the face of these facts, a number of associations, including the European Federation of Journalists, Reporters Without Borders and the European Organisation for Security and Cooperation, have ignited a red alarm. Dimitris Trimi, chairman of the association of newspaper editors in Athens, is clear: "The government does not feel secure. He believes that the only way to convince society about its policies is through media manipulation, threatening the media,” says The Guardian. Trim pointed out that not only on public television, but also in the private media there have been wage cuts and redundancies and that precariousness has facilitated the manipulation of journalists for the benefit of the government and the economic elite.

The expelled presenter, Kostas Arvanitis, explained that the dismissal was politically motivated and that it was an attempt to silence the media. “This isn’t just about us, it’s related to censorship on public television. From now on will they give us a list of the words and comments we can say?”

Greek reporter María Margaronis has stressed that the free journalism of the authorities’ claws is essential to make real journalism: “Doing journalism means publishing something that is trying to hide others. Everything else is public relations.”