THE GOVERNMENT was accused of “intellectual terrorism” and Stalinist methods yesterday over police handling of threats made against the life of a well-known journalist in an online blog.
In response, ruling party AKEL highlighted the “fascistic and far-right” practices of threatening people with their lives whose opinion they do not share.
The surplus of comments dominating the airwaves and news shows yesterday were triggered after police early Thursday morning seized two computers from the office of a blog administrator, who was questioned after a complaint that a popular local blog published content with threats against the life of Politis columnist Makarios Droushiotis.
The affair attracted comment and criticism from across the political spectrum, drawing in the police and Attorney-general while prodding a debate on the acceptable levels of freedom of speech in a democracy.
DIKO vice-president Nicholas Papadopoulos said police adopted “a practice reminiscent of North Korea and the former Soviet Union”, adding, “the intellectual terrorism against the opposing view we are experiencing in the last two years continues and intensifies”. This view was supported by EVROKO deputy Ricos Erotocritou.
Papadopoulos called on free-thinking citizens to concern themselves with the ease with which police entered the house of 35-year-old lawyer Xenis Xenofontos, the alleged blog administrator and confiscated his computers. Xenofontos denies any involvement, while his lawyer Christos Clerides describes the case as being “politically-motivated persecution”. Clerides charged the government with trying to close down a political blog providing opposing views.
In a reference to his support for freedom of speech, Clerides said had the comment posted on the blog referred to him, he would have simply “thrown it in the bin”.
Papadopoulos referred to an organised effort against the opposing view as reflected in the political blog called ‘Christofias-watch’, (http://christofias-watch.blogspot.com/). He also called for the House Institutions Committee to debate the actions of the police.
The contentious comment posted on the blog reads: “Only in Cyprus is it possible for someone like Makarios [Droushiotis] to live. Only in Cyprus is it possible for collaborators, whores and brownnosers of the conqueror (and the nobody in question is all of the above) to peddle their garbage. The traitors deserve fire and axe. Throw the collaborators into a pit and cover them with lime.”
Droushiotis said he reported it to police in early March after receiving written advice from Attorney-general Petros Clerides.
However, AG Clerides yesterday said had he been the target, he would not have bothered reporting it to police. The AG also doubted the case would go to court unless police found more evidence.
This drew the ire of Droushiotis who asked why the AG was trying to prejudge the outcome of the case, noting that he had signed the warrant for the confiscation of the equipment. The journalist, who has come under fire since returning from a trip to Istanbul where he and two other journalists interviewed Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, questioned how the contentious comment in question was removed from the blog after the issue reached the Legal Service.
Meanwhile, in a further blow to police confidence, Clerides said he would have done things differently, rather than enter the lawyer’s house in the early morning to confiscate his computers.
Justice Minister Loucas Louca and police spokesman Michalis Katsounotos highlighted that from the moment a complaint is made, police are obliged to investigate it.
DISY deputy Ionas Nicolaou accused the police of acting with “excessive zeal” and once again “using political criteria and in an unprecedented manner”.
His superior, DISY leader Nicos Anastassiades said countered that “freedom of expression for every citizen should be limited to the extent that it doesn’t affect the rights of other citizens. This is the basic rule of democracy”. He called on all parties to show restraint.
“One cannot through vulgar or unacceptable texts put someone at risk who probably don’t see it as harsh criticism but as an incitement to commit offences against them,” he added.
EDEK leader Yiannakis Omirou said he sent a letter to the chairman of the House Legal Affairs Committee Ionas Nicolaou seeking discussion of the issue. EDEK member Costis Efstathiou said he supported Xenofontos and anyone else who dares to give his opinion in a democracy.
Government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou yesterday questioned the logic behind those who accused the government of political motives in the whole affair. “The government, and I stress this, has nothing to do with the whole thing.”
AKEL spokesman Stavros Evagorou suggested “cursing and making threats against the life of a person because they disagree with their political positions constitutes the worst kind of fascism and far right behaviour, and certainly has nothing to do with democracy”.
“It is at the least a joke for those who support and favour intellectual terrorism and threats against the lives of our citizens to accuse others of so-called terrorism,” he added.
Evagorou questioned how critics within the DIKO leadership, a reference to Papadopoulos, felt about participating in an “autocratic government partnership”.
The Journalists Union yesterday condemned both the threats against the journalist’s life and the way police handled the case.
