Journalists worried as Skouries wiretap file includes transcripts

The Macedonia-Thrace journalists’ union (ESIEMTH) expressed concern on Thursday about authorities eavesdropping on the media after court documents revealed that conversations between Tolis Papageorgiou, the founder of Hellenic Mining Watch, which opposes gold mining in Skouries, and a number of reporters were recorded.

“The state’s obligation is to guarantee that it does not use the tools it has at its disposal to become a Trojan horse that monitors journalists,” said the union after transcripts of telephone interviews and conversations between Papageorgiou and journalists from Greek newspapers (including Kathimerini), Reuters and the Athens-Macedonian News Agency were included in a case file related to the charges against some anti-mine protesters forming a “criminal organization.”

Papageorgiou is accused of setting up the alleged group and of using his exchanges with the media to influence public opinion.