TV crew facing jail after court filming
A Patras misdemeanors court handed down yesterday an eight-month jail sentence and a 30,000-euro fine to a journalist and cameraman for interviewing a defendant outside a courtroom. The two were arrested in November 2004 as they interviewed an Albanian national who was about to appear in court accused of causing a traffic accident. Greek law specifies that defendants cannot be interviewed or photographed as they are being led to trial or taken into police custody. The media representatives, journalist Constantinos Flamis and cameraman Athanassios Kafetzis, argued that they have repeatedly interviewed people outside of the court without any problems in the past. Sources said that the law was passed four years ago and that this is the first time it has been enforced.
