Media Reporting and Reference Guide on LGBT Issues

numerous cases <strong>Media</strong> professionals or hosted guests of mainstream media have openly
expressed homophobic, transphobic, biphobic ideas <strong>and</strong> in some case even anti-LGBT hate
speech. In almost all of these cases, no one was punished by the National Council for Radio
<strong>and</strong> Television (NCRTV) <strong>and</strong>/or the Greek Justice System. 13
One of the few exceptions was the Plevris/Zafeiropoulos case in 2011, when the author - well
known for his extreme right views <strong>and</strong> political activities -Kostas Plevris together with the
former member of the neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn <strong>and</strong> publisher, Dimitris Zafeiropoulos,
were brought to trial because of a homophobic memo called “Homosexuality is perversion”.
This memo was written by Plevris <strong>and</strong> published in 2009 by Zafeiropoulos in Eleftheros Kosmos,
an extreme right newspaper of the latter (Tvxs.gr 2011 November 4; Antonopoulos 2011
November 15). Claimants were LGBT activists <strong>and</strong> human rights defenders (Tvxs.gr 2011
November 4; Antonopoulos 2011 November 15). Finally, both were sentenced to a few
months imprisonment with suspension for vilification (Sotiropoulos 2011 November 27).
In 2018, Dimos Verykios, a well-known journalist working in one of the biggest media networks
in Greece, was convicted for infringement of the personality of the author – also openly gay -
Auguste Corteau, after making homophobic comments against him in 2014, during his radio
show in Alpha Station 98,9 (Huffington Post 2018 April 3; Sotiropoulos 2018 April 4).
In none of the above two mentioned cases was the Law on hate crime <strong>and</strong> hate speech enforced. 14
It should be highlighted, however, that in the court’s decision of the Verykios/Corteau case it
was referred that the plaintiff was a member of a “social group” whose “erotic choices” are
totally respected under the Greek constitution (Sotiropoulos 2018 April 4).
Finally, in 2018, a Greek media professional was forced to compensate a Greek actor – <strong>and</strong>
openly gay man – after insulting him about his sexual orientation during a radio show. In
December 2017, well known journalist, TV Presenter <strong>and</strong> Radio Showman George Liagas,
organized – in his Radio Show - an on-air prank by phone against an unsuspected man (Lifo.
gr 2017 December 20; Theodorou 2017 December 20; Ksinopoulos 2017 December 29).
Liagas pretended to be a gay man – in a stereotypical <strong>and</strong> offensive way – <strong>and</strong> when the
track driver asked for his name, Liagas introduced himself as “Spyros Bibilas”, a well-known
Greek actor who is openly gay (Lifo.gr 2017 December 20; Theodorou 2017 December 20;
Ksinopoulos 2017 December 29). Bibilas felt offended <strong>and</strong> filed a lawsuit against Liagas in
the civil court of law (Lifo.gr 2017 December 20; Theodorou 2017 December 20; Ksinopoulos
2017 December 29). Finally, Liagas was forced to compensate Bibilas with the amount of
27000€, for “moral damage” (Vamvakoula 2018 February 13).
13
The Racist Crime Watch of the Greek Helsinki Monitor as well as the Observatory against Fascism <strong>and</strong> Racist
Speech in the <strong>Media</strong> of the Educational Foundation of the Journalists’ Union of Athens Daily Newspapers
(ESIEA) have recorded <strong>and</strong> reported many cases of racist, homophobic, transphobic, anti-Semitic etc. <strong>Media</strong>
content <strong>and</strong>/or hate speech by <strong>Media</strong>: newspapers <strong>and</strong> websites MAKELIO («Μακελειό»), Eleftheri Ora
(“Ελεύθερη Ώρα”), “Dimokratia” (“Δημοκρατία”) are some of these <strong>Media</strong>.
14
Vasilis Sotiropoulos – who was one of the lawyers who h<strong>and</strong>led these cases (<strong>and</strong> won)– clarified to us (contact
15/11/2018) that in Plevris/Zafeiropoulos case, the “anti-racist” Law 927/179 which was in force at the
time did not include sexual orientation as a protected characteristic. Regarding the Verykios/Corteau case,
Sotiropoulos pointed out that the Law 4285/2014 (Amendment of Law 927/1979) which includes sexual orientation
as a protected characteristic had not been voted yet when the incident happened <strong>and</strong> Corteau appealed
to Justice (2014). Furthermore, Corteau filed a lawsuit against Verykios in the civil court of law.
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