Crime Reporter Gunned Down in Athens
Voice of America
A Greek journalist known for his crime reporting was shot dead outside his Athens home Friday, police said. George Karaivaz, who worked for the privately owned broadcaster STAR TV, was known for his coverage of law and order and police stories. Two unidentified people on a motorcycle fired multiple rounds at Karaivaz Friday afternoon near his home in Alimos, in the south of Athens, police said. Witnesses said the journalist was shot as he got out of his car. The journalist was returning from the studio where he works on Star TV, according to the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), a group that documents attacks on the press across Europe. Authorities are currently working to establish the motive behind the attack and whether it was related to Karaivaz’s journalistic work. Early reports suggested the gunman used a silencer on his weapon, MFRR reported. Karaivaz was a contributor to the Eleftheros Typos newspaper, and he founded the news website bloko.gr, which reported on crime.
Police were cited in local reports saying he had not reported any recent threats or asked for police protection. The MFRR said it was “horrified” by the shooting, which “appears to bear all the signs of a targeted assassination.” “Regardless of the motive, the killing of Giorgos (George) Karaivaz is a tragic event for the journalistic community in Greece and a dark day for media freedom in the European Union,” the MFRR said in a statement. If the motive is confirmed as being related to Karaivaz’s journalism, it would be the first assassination of a journalist in the European Union since the 2018 murder of investigative reporter Jan Kuciak in Slovakia, the MFRR said. Fatal attacks on journalists are rare in Greece. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists has recorded only one killing in the country. The investigative reporter Sokratis Giolias was shot dead near his apartment in Athens in July 2010. No one has been prosecuted for the killing, according to CPJ. Some information in this report came from Reuters.This handout photo released on June 2, 2024 shows South Korean military officers check unidentified objects believed to be North Korean trash from balloons that crossed the inter-Korea border, on a street in Seoul. In this photo provided by Jeonbuk Fire Headquarters, balloons with trash presumably sent by North Korea, hang on electric wires as South Korean army soldiers stand guard in Muju, South Korea, May 29, 2024.
A man takes a photograph of the election results at the National Results Operation Centre of the IEC in Midrand, South Africa, June 2, 2024. African National Congress (ANC) secretary-general, Fikile Mbalula, briefs the media on results of the elections at the Results Operation Centre in Midland, Johannesburg, June 2, 2024.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during the 21st Shangri-La Dialogue summit at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore, June 2, 2024. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, shakes hand with Malaysian Defense Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin, left, and Singaporean Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen at the 21st Shangri-La Dialogue summit at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore, June 2, 2024.
Supporters of the ruling Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) hold cutouts of India's Prime Minister and their leader, Narendra Modi, as they shout slogans during an election campaign rally in Amritsar on May 30, 2024. A man watching television waits for the release of exit polls published after voting concludes during its seventh and final phase amid India's general election, at an appliance store in Ajmer on June 1, 2024.
FILE - In this photo provided by Jeonbuk Fire Headquarters, balloons with trash presumably sent by North Korea hang on electric wires as South Korean army soldiers stand guard in Muju, South Korea, May 29, 2024. This photo provided by Incheon Fire Headquarters shows balloons with trash presumably sent by North Korea, in Incheon, South Korea, June 2, 2024.