Greece's Golden Dawn accused of intimidating journalists

The Greek Federation of Journalists has sent a warning to the far-right Golden Dawn party that it will not be terrorized, following accusations that the newly elected neo-Nazi party has intimidated reporters.

Greece's journalists' union is not alone in its stance as Sott reports International press freedom watchdogs are also monitoring the situation in Greece following mistreatment of journalists by Golden Dawn. The issue was first raised when journalist Xenia Kounalaki recounted how she was threatened following the publication of an article in Greek newspaper Kathimerini entitled "The Banality of Evil," about Golden Dawn's surge in popularity. She concluded the party should be banned. Following the publication of her story Kounalaki wrote a piece in Der Spiegel describing the threat her story provoked. She wrote "An anonymous reply to my article appeared on the Golden Dawn website. It was a 2,500-word-long personal attack in which the fascists recounted my entire career, mocked my alleged foreign roots (I was born in Hamburg) and even, for no apparent reason, mentioned my 13-year-old daughter. The unnamed authors indirectly threatened me as well: 'To put it in the mother tongue of foreign Xenia: 'Kommt Zeit, kommt Rat, kommt Attentat!' In other words, watch your back." Kounalaki is not alone in feeling threatened. During Golden Dawn's election victory press conference journalists were ordered to stand and salute the party or leave the room. Greece's journalists' union has released a statement. Ekathimerini reports it said “The Greek Federation of Journalists (POESY) warns Hitler nostalgics and especially the ‘brave boys in black T-shirts’ that no journalist will be coerced, threatened or above all terrorized.” Additionally the South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) reacted to the situation by stating "I hope that these incidents will be isolated cases and that the Golden Dawn leaders will respect democratic principles."