Human rights, media groups lambast ‘misleading’ rule of law report on Greece

A recent report by the European Commission about the rule of law in Greece "misleads readers" by "glossing over critical issues," 14 human rights and media freedom organizations said on Thursday.

While the report, issued on July 24, acknowledges issues with the independence and resources of the media regulator, the independence of public media, access to information, the persistence of threats to journalists' safety, and the pressures from strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) and harassment, including by politicians, "it fails to grasp the severity of the ongoing crisis," the groups said.

"The overly positive account in the report starkly contrasts an alarming reality experienced by journalists, activists, and civil society organizations on the ground," the 14 signatories said, adding that it "disproportionately focuses on positive developments,...