Greece: Stavroula Poulimeni Due Before Court To Face Libel Case For Reporting On Environmental Damages

Location: Greece, Athens                 
Date: May 18, 2022

Journalist Stavroula Poulimeni is due before court to face SLAPP (strategic lawsuit against public participation) brought against her by a senior executive of a gold mining company in retaliation to her reports on legal action against environmental damage caused by said company.Ahead of her hearing in Athens tomorrow, May 19, 2022, the Coalition For Women In Journalism extends support for Stavroula and underscores the need for compliance with the European Commission’s recent directives against abusive lawsuits.

We call on the authorities in Greece, a member state of the European Union, to respect the media’s right to report on matters of public concern and ensure journalists are protected from abuse of law. 

On October 19, 2021, Efstathios Lialios, a senior executive at Hellas Gold, sued Stavroula and her employer publication, AlterThess, a small independent media outlet, over news reports of his criminal conviction. The gold mining executive has claimed 100,000 euros (estimated $106,600) in damages for a news story published in October 2020 on his first instance of conviction over the company’s pollution of water in Chalkidiki, northern Greece. Lialios accuses Stavroula and AlterThess for possessing and publishing his “sensitive personal data'' illegally based on the report naming him and his colleague, then CEO of Hellas Gold. 

In September 2021, an appeals court upheld the verdict awarded to the two Hellas Gold executives for environmental damage caused by the company’s harmful toxic metal and liquid waste disposal. Lialios filed the SLAP against Stavroula and the small news outlet the following month. If the journalist is unable to pay damages, she could reportedly be detained. 

Ahead of her hearing before an Athens court tomorrow, CFWIJ reminds the authorities in Greece of recent policy recommendations proposed by the EU Commission for Values and Transparency to counter SLAPPs. The commission recommended national legal safeguards and independent prono bono support, among other proposals, for SLAPP targets. Find more information on EU commission’s anti-SLAPP measures in the thread below. 

When the rich & powerful bring #SLAPPS (vexatious lawsuits) aimed at silencing women journalists & quashing accountability, the process is the punishment.

Missed @VeraJourova & @CASECoalition’s discussion last week on EU-wide anti-SLAPP measures? Here’s a review!

[1/11] pic.twitter.com/QwC91zSPKM

— #WomenInJournalism (@CFWIJ) May 5, 2022

Sister of Daphne Caruana Galizia @Corinne_Vella shares how her sister was murdered and her husband and son inherited the cases against her speaking to how states use #SLAPP to silence journalists. #ThreattoWIJ

— #WomenInJournalism (@CFWIJ) May 10, 2022

SLAPP cases are by design vexatious lawsuits aimed at discouraging public participation and protecting the socio-political and economic elite. Journalists, human rights defenders, political activists and dissenting voices are frequent targets of such cases. Follow the thread below to know more about Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia case, which prompted recognition for SLAPPs as well as work to counter them. 

In Greece, however, the government appears to enable weaponization of law to target and harass journalists. A recently enacted law authorizes the National Council for Radio and Television (NCRTV) to impose recurrent administrative fines on newspapers for slander, reported Al Jazeera. Local journalists argue that the legislation threatens media houses, especially smaller independent ones, and stands in violation of press freedom as enshrined in the Greek Constitution. 

The Coalition For Women In Journalism calls on the authorities in Greece to comply with the measures proposed by the EU Commission and take active steps to ensure journalists are protected against SLAPPs. Ahead of her hearing in Athens tomorrow, we extend support to Stavroula Poulimeni and calls for Hellas Gold executive’s damages claim to be dismissed. It is evident that the case against her is yet another example of a corporation using legal gambits to harass an individual journalist and an independent media outlet. It is aimed at exhausting the defendants’ financial resources and discouraging the press from reporting the company’s wrongdoings. The repercussions of a judgment in Hellas Gold’s favor and the precedent it will set can have extremely damaging effects on press freedom in Greece. 

The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.

If you have been harassed or abused in any way, and please report the incident by using the following form.