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Greece is preparing to bring a suit against 13 German journalists

26 April 2011 / 13:04:33  GRReporter
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Nothing is forgotten and no one is forgotten. The indecent comments on Greece made by the German magazine Focus in the weeks after the burst of the truth about the financial state of the country eventually will be bring up before the court. A group of Athenian lawyers including Theodoros Frangakis, Ekaterina Poulaki, Vasiliki Bakali and Stavros Androtsopoulos have filed a suit against the editors of the German magazine, accusing them of libel, offensive campaign and several other crimes. The case will be heard by a three-member panel of the Athens court of first instance but the date of the first meeting has not yet been disclosed. There is no response by the German media either.

It all started over a year ago, on the 22nd of February 2010 when at the height of the Greek economic crisis, Focus published an issue on the cover of which prominently stood the statue of Venus de Milo, wrapped with the Greek national flag to the waist and immodestly showing the middle finger. Next to it was the headline Deceivers in the Euro Family. Even then, the response to the collage in Greece was a wave of discontent. According to the Greek lawyers, that cover and a series of the magazine’s publications give rise to legal actions against the editors of Focus for material compensation for moral offence. The amount of the compensation sought is not known yet.

The lawyers have created a group on the popular social network Facebook entitled: "All! Greeks can sue Focus for libel" which already has more than 10,700 members. The page shows that at least 20 lawyers are inclined to appear in court on the day of the case because they feel "offended by the infamous magazine’s articles that present the Greeks as scoundrels whose sole purpose is to conceal income, as illiterate and greedy people who live only by borrowing."

According to the information on Facebook, the initiative of the lawyers is not political, nor is it directed against the German people. It is not an attempt to pursue foreign policy either. "Our trial is connected with social justice and our aim is to get a public apology," said Theodoros Frangakis, who has assumed to coordinate the lawyer group. He openly thanks the prosecutors and the judges who are determined not to suppress the case and have scheduled the first trial in June 2011.

 

Tags: Focus MagazineVenus de Milomiddle fingereconomic crisiscourt lawyers
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