‘Lagarde list’ scandal may put corrupt Greek politicians in jail
Greek Officials Accused of Persecution as ‘Lagarde List’ Journalist Appears in Court
Greek officials were accused of employing the tactics of persecution Monday as a magazine editor faced court for publishing a list of alleged tax evaders and two high profile journalists were fired from the state broadcaster.
Costas Vaxevanis (seen in Athens) claimed he was just doing his job as a journalist. Photo: Reuters
Costas Vaxevanis, editor of the “Hot Doc” weekly magazine, was ordered to answer charges on breaching privacy laws a day after he was arrested for publishing a list of more than 2,000 Greeks said to hold bank accounts in a Swiss branch of HSBC.Separately MediaNet, a state-run broadcaster, announced the dismissal of Kostas Arvantitis and Marilena Katsimi after the morning news presenters discussed neo-Nazi infiltration of the police on air.
Mr Vaxevanis hit out at the rush to bring charges that could see him sentenced to two years in prison while the government has failed to pursue intelligence on tax dodgers.
“I’ll say something that’s very simple: Journalism means publishing something that others are trying to hide. Everything else is public relations,” he said outside the court. “The public prosecutors’ office has shown a special interest in its dealings with me. It was executed against me because I published, as I ought to do being a reporter, the Lagarde list.”