Mystery surrounding Greek journalist’s murder remains in ‘darkness’: International Press Institute
Giorgos Karaivaz’s assassination believed to be 45th linked to mafia groups in Greece since 2009
The mystery surrounding a Greek journalist’s murder remains in “darkness,” according to the International Press Institute (IPI).
No suspects were identified and no arrests have been made in connection with the assassination of prominent journalist Giorgos Karaivaz, 52, on April 9, IPI said in a report Thursday.
A lawyer for the Karaivaz family, Apostolos Lytras, who was also a friend of the journalist, confirmed to IPI that the family has not received any updates on the case from authorities.
But his execution in daylight outside his home in Athens’ southern suburb of Alimos, made police experts believe that it was a mafia hit job.
Karaivaz covered the mob extensively during his career.
IPI said the assassination is believed to be the 45th in Greece since 2021 linked to the country’s different organized crime groups, which are currently locked in an ongoing battle for supremacy
Karaivaz highlighted the involvement of top current and former police officers in organized crime and their role in maintaining the balance among different interests, according to IPI.
Thodoris Chondrogiannos, a prominent journalist in Greece, told IPI that journalists in Greece face difficulties, apart from violence, which aim to discredit them or their stories.
They can be lawsuits by large corporations, anonymous threats against them and their families, the risk of dismissal by publishers and character assassination operations by armies of trolls, he said.
IPI noted that not solving Karaivaz’s murder would send a message that those who attack journalists can get away with it and hence will undoubtedly put Greek journalists at even greater risk.