CPJ joins call for Greek authorities to investigate surveillance of journalist Thanasis Koukakis

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined six other international press freedom organizations in an open letter on April 22, 2022, calling on Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and other government officials to conduct a full and transparent investigation into the surveillance of journalist Thanasis Koukakis.

From July to September 2021, Koukakis, a financial editor for CNN Greece and a regular contributor to local and international outlets including The Financial Times and CNBC, had his cellphone surveilled by Predator spyware. The letter notes that the journalist’s communications were previously targeted by the Greek National Intelligence Service, a body overseen by the prime minister’s office.

The groups call on the Greek government to explain authorities’ previous surveillance of Koukakis, to disclose all available information about the source of the 2021 spyware attack, and to transparently show whether the Greek government was connected to the 2021 attack.

The full text of the letter can be read here.