Vyron Polydoras

A court accepted on Thursday a request by an American company to invite two former ministers and two former ministry officials to testify in an ongoing investigation into a cash-for-contracts scandal involving the acquisition of a security and surveillance system by Greece in the run-up to the Olympic Games of 2004.

The European Court of Human Rights on Thursday ordered the Greek state to pay 50,000 euros in damages and expenses to the family of Costas Tsalikidis, a mobile telephone company worker who was found hanged in his home in March 2005, shortly before a major wiretapping scandal involving his firm became public.

The Greek government has backed down from its plans to introduce an interim bill that would allow TV stations to operate with temporary licenses, following opposition party New Democracy’s (ND) refusal to consent on the formation of the new National Council of Radio and Television (NCRTV) during the Parliamentary Council of Presidents session, Monday.

The Greek government is taking steps to de-escalate tensions caused over the TV license controversy, following its decision to propose Vyron Polydoras as president for the National Council of Television and Radio (NCRTV), Greece’s independent media watchdog.

The Greek government has come under fire, both from opposing political parties, but also from within its own ranks, following its proposal over the weekend of ex-conservative MP and former New Democracy Minister Vyron Polydoras as President of the new National Council of Radio and Television (NCRTV).