Kostas Vaxevanis facts for kids
Kostas Vaxevanis (Greek: Κώστας Βαξεβάνης; born 6 May 1966) is a Greek journalist. A journalist is someone who collects and writes news for newspapers, magazines, radio, or television. He owns and edits the magazine Hot Doc and the newspaper Documento.
Kostas Vaxevanis was born in 1966 in Agia Paraskevi, Lesbos, Greece. He started his journalism career in 1988 at the newspaper Rizospastis. Later, he worked for other newspapers like Eleftherotypia, Kathimerini, and To Vima.
In 1991, he began reporting from places where there was conflict or war. He covered events in Bosnia, the Persian Gulf, Palestine, Albania, and Kosovo. He reported for television channels like NET and MEGA.
Hot Doc Magazine
In April 2012, Kostas Vaxevanis started his own magazine called Hot Doc. It was published every two weeks.
On October 28, 2012, he was arrested. This happened because his magazine published a document known as the Lagarde list. This list contained names of people who had bank accounts in Switzerland. The magazine suggested these people might not have paid their taxes in Greece.
Vaxevanis was released from the police station a few hours later. He told reporters that he was just doing his job. He believed that the authorities should focus on those who might be avoiding taxes, not on journalists who share information.
His trial began quickly on November 1 and he was found not guilty the same day. After leaving the court, he shared a famous quote from George Orwell. He said, "Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed. The rest is public relations." This means true journalism reveals important truths.
However, in November, the courts said he might have to go to trial again. In 2013, a new trial was ordered. This second trial also ended with him being found not guilty in November 2013.
In October 2019, Vaxevanis made accusations against the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis. He claimed that the government was trying to harm his newspaper Documento financially. This was because Documento had reported on the Prime Minister's money matters. The president of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, expressed concern about the situation for the press in Greece.
Later, the Greek government gave financial help to many Greek media outlets to promote information about the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Vaxevanis's media companies were not included in this support.
Public Surveillance Reports
On November 6, 2022, Vaxevanis's newspaper Documento published important research. This research was about a situation in 2022 where people's phones might have been secretly listened to. This is also known as a wiretapping scandal.
According to Documento, several important government officials were illegally watched. This included ministers like Nikos Dendias and Adonis Georgiadis. Even a former prime minister, Antonis Samaras, and another journalist, Alexis Papahelas, were on the list. The newspaper said that a special software called Predator spyware was used.
In total, the report said that thirty-three people were on this secret surveillance list. Many international news groups also reported on this topic. On November 7, Vaxevanis offered to give his testimony about the matter. The Greek government has not denied these claims.
Awards and Recognition
Kostas Vaxevanis has received awards for his work in journalism:
- 2013: VII Julio A. Parrado Journalism Award
- 2013: Index on Censorship Journalism Award
See also
In Spanish: Kostas Vaxevanis para niños
- Media of Greece
