Α totally professional intrusion inside the office of Kerin Hope, FT’s Athens correspondent, occurred two weeks ago. The intruders entered and left without causing any damage, though they took away two notebooks which she used.
There were many items in the office that would catch the attention of some common burglar. All of them remained in place, making it obvious that the intruders, who left no trace behind, were interested only in those notebooks and their contents.
Kerin Hope has had a lot of “hot” correspondences during her time in Athens, condemning the corruption system in Greece. One of her last stories was about the selling of OPAP and businessman Dimitris Melissanides.
On February 23, Kerin Hope had disclosed that Greece will be forced to ask for 20 billion euro, in order to cover the capital needs of the Banks, contradicting the official statements that claimed the amount was no more than 6 billion.
However, Kerin Hope is not the only foreign reporter that becomes a victim of methods of silencing of journalism in Greece.
About a year and a half ago, a similar burglary took place at the office of a Reuters associate. Again, only his notebooks were stolen.
Reuters reporter Stephen Grey was being monitored and followed during his major research about the Greek banking system. Grey had spotted people following and photographing him. He actually managed, with his team, to capture one of them.
Also, many other foreign reporters and correspondents have noticed that they were being followed during their research for a story in Greece. They have collected evidence to prove their sayings, even photos.
The Greek government has been informed of these occasions, along with the British Embassy.
