NEWS

Publisher acquitted over letters

A Communist MP and magazine publisher was fully justified in publishing private letters to Foreign Minister George Papandreou from his mother, an Athens court found yesterday, rejecting a compensation suit by Margaret Papandreou. The correspondence, which included e-mails, was published in late 2000 and early 2001, in the Nemesis magazine, which was run by journalist and MP Liana Kanelli. It was unclear how Kanelli laid hands on the letters, in which the US-born Papandreou advised the FM on his political career, urging him to make use of non-governmental organizations such as the Andreas Papandreou Foundation and the Andreas Papandreou Institute for Strategic and Development Studies (ISTAME). Nemesis claimed Papandreou had been trying to influence Greek politics. Margaret Papandreou sued for libel and breach of privacy, seeking 2.93 million euros in compensation. But the court ruled that Kanelli was justified in publishing the letters, as they «concerned the functioning of our democracy,» and ordered Papandreou to pay 29,350 euros in court costs.

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