Seven Greek Editors Freed From Prison
Seven newspaper editors, jailed for defying Greece’s controversial new anti-terrorism law, were freed Friday after spending 11 days in prison.
They were released after a journalists’ union paid between 150,000 and 300,000 drachmas ($750 and $1,500) each to pay off the remainder of their jail sentences of five to 10 months.
Under Greece’s judicial system, people convicted of certain crimes may buy off sentences instead of staying in jail.
The jailing of some of the country’s top editors, including former Socialist Press Minister Dimitris Maroudas, set off the fiercest censorship dispute since Greece was run by an iron-fisted military dictatorship from 1967 to 1974.
The editors were convicted of defying an anti-terrorist law banning the publishing or broadcasting of statements by guerrilla groups.
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