Greece: Abusive lawsuit against independent newsrooms should be dismissed

Greece urged to implement anti-SLAPP safeguards to protect media

IPI is joined by the undersigned Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners in condemning the filing of abusive legal action by Air Mediterranean against the Greek investigative newsroom Mediterranean Institute for Investigative Reporting (MIIR), the newspaper Efimerida ton Syntakton (EfSyn) as well as their editors and directors.

Our organisations, which have long documented legal threats against media in Europe, today urge the Court of First Instance of Athens to treat the lawsuit by Air Mediterranean as an abusive lawsuit and to uphold European press freedom standards when assessing the case during the upcoming hearing on 21 May 2026.

MFRR partners regret that although the Greek government has indicated some level of preparation for the transposition of the EU Anti-SLAPP Directive, no concrete legislative amendments were adopted before the 7 May deadline.

Now that the deadline has passed, we urge the Greek authorities to take decisive action to ensure the EU Directive’s swift and effective implementation into national law. Reform of the civil code should also strengthen safeguards against domestic Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) which aim to silence quality public-interest journalism.

The lawsuit stems from a cross-border investigation by MIIR and its partners entitled “The Mediterranean Wings of the Underworld”, published in August 2025. Air Mediterranean, an Athens-based international airline company, initiated legal proceedings seven months later, targeting MIIR, EfSyn and the journalists who worked on the report. MIIR is a non-profit organisation with a reputation for hard hitting investigative data journalism and EfSyn is one of the major independent dailies in Greece.

The legal action followed an earlier complaint submitted by the airline’s legal representatives in August 2025, in which it rejected the reporting as “false and defamatory” and denied any links to criminal activity. In response, MIIR and EfSyn stated that the company had been given multiple opportunities to respond prior to publication in line with the applicable journalistic ethical standards and emphasised that the investigation adhered to journalistic standards and addressed issues of clear public interest.

The cross-border investigation was supported by Journalismfund Europe and published jointly by MIIR and Siraj (Syria), Daraj (Lebanon), VoxEurop (France and Belgium), and L’Espresso (Italy). It examined alleged links between the private Greek airline Air Mediterranean and individuals involved in arms, drug and migrant trafficking. It also raised serious questions about the oversight abilities of Greek, Italian and EU authorities.

Air Mediterranean targeted only the two Greek media outlets involved in the cross-border collaborations, while all four other media partners were excluded from litigation.

MFRR observes that Air Mediterranean’s lawsuit bears several hallmarks of a SLAPP: the amount of damages requested is excessive (EUR 100,000 jointly); there is an imbalance of power between the defendants and the claimant, given the company’s financial resources; and the lawsuit also appears to be aimed at suppressing public interest information.

Our organisations stand in solidarity with the teams at MIIR and EfSyn and remain committed to supporting them as the case progresses. We also express our solidarity with journalists in Greece who are repeatedly subjected to vexatious lawsuits intended to intimidate, create a chilling effect, and deter reporting on matters of clear public interest.

For years, Greece has been considered a high-risk country in Europe for SLAPPs. While some high-profile lawsuits against journalists in recent years have been dismissed, others continue to be fought, as in the case of.

Overall, this lawsuit demonstrates the urgent need for robust anti-SLAPP legislation in Greece, which covers both cross-border cases, as foreseen within the EU’s Anti-SLAPP Directive, but also wider protections against domestic SLAPP cases, as outlined in the Council of Europe’s 2024 Recommendation on SLAPPs.

Our organisations hope to see this lawsuit against MIIR, EfSyn and the journalists thrown out. We will continue to monitor this case and respond to further developments.

Signed:

International Press Institute (IPI)

European Center for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)

European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)

Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT)

[This statement was coordinated by the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), a Europe-wide mechanism which tracks, monitors and responds to violations of press and media freedom in EU Member States and Candidate Countries.]

You can read οur investigation here: https://miir.gr/en/the-mediterranean-wings-of-the-underworld/ 

And the follow-up story on the wanted Golden Visa investors in Greece, here: https://miir.gr/katazitoumenoi-chrysoi-ependytes-stin-ellada/

It’s been a week since our colleague Konstantina Maltepioti presented the methodology & tools behind MIIR’s “Troubled Waters” investigation.
During the session “From space to spreadsheet: Analysing flood impact using Copernicus satellite data”, along with Jonathan Stoneman (BBC, Arena for Journalism in Europe), Konstantina Maltepioti discussed how “Troubled Waters” explored and analysed the damaging impact of floods in Europe.

Strength in unity

MIIR members joined Reporters United in the major ICIJ #CyprusConfidential investigation

The investigation, in which 270 journalists and 68 media outlets joined forces, is being carried out by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, with the participation of #ReportersUnited.

The focus of the eight-month investigation is 3.6 million records dating from the mid-1990s to April 2022. The data comes from 6 financial service providers in Cyprus (ConnectedSky, Cypcodirect, DJC Accountants, Kallias & Associates, MeritKapital, MeritServus) & the Latvian Dataset SIA which operates the i-Cyprus website.

MIIR members, Kostas Zafeiropoulos and Ioanna Louloudi, worked with the Reporters United team.

Read the surveys

1. The unseen #PredatorGate company that sold wellbeing data.
https://www.reportersunited.gr/11975/predator-censura/

2. Cyprus Confidential – The golden fortress of Russian oligarchs
https://www.reportersunited.gr/11916/cyprus-confidential/?fbclid=IwAR2BEQNEvh79uWEHK35ZoFoJLoGNtFCQpBZjS8GniWWPiqJUIM3dksm6IEg