November 18, 2021, Athens- Dutch journalist Ingeborg Beugel, who earlier faced a vicious online harassment campaign after a heated exchange with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, has been forced to leave the country due to increasing threats to her safety. After the exchange was televised and the smear campaign against her escalated, Ineborg was also physically assaulted in public. She has been accused of being a “Turkish spy”. The Greek law enforcement authorities refused to take any action despite being alerted to the threats against her. The Coalition For Women In Journalism is deeply concerned for Ingeborg’s safety. Her being forced out of the country is deplorable and a blatant disregard of press freedoms.  

Ingeborg, who is a permanent resident of Greece, raised the question of the treatment of migrants during a joint press conference by Mitsotakis and Prime Minister of Netherlands Mark Rutte. Ingeborg was told she would only be given one opportunity to ask a question and she decided to use the moment to confront the Greek leader on the inhumane policy his country had adopted for refugees and his subsequent denial of such policies. Ingeborg’s question echoed concerns previously cited by local and international rights groups. 

"Prime Minister Mitsotakis, when, at last, will you stop lying. Lying about pushbacks, lying about what is happening with the refugees in Greece?" Ingeborg asked at the press conference. 

Dissatisfied with the evasive responses initially offered, Ingeborg pressed further. "There has been overwhelming evidence and you keep denying and lying. This is like narcissistic abuse. Why are you not honest? Why don't you say 'Brussels left us alone, we waited for six years, nobody did anything… Now I have a say and yes, I do cruel, barbarian pushbacks.'?"

This visibly enraged Mitsotakis. “I understand that in the Netherlands you have a culture of asking direct questions to politicians, which I very much respect," he said. "What I will not accept is that in this office you will insult me or the Greek people with accusations and expressions that are not supported by material facts." 

He went on to add: "Look, you will not come into this building and insult me. Am I very clear on this?” 

Ingeborg was not wrong in her line of questioning. Several international human rights watchdogs and advocacy groups, including the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) have claimed that Greece is unlawfully pushing asylum seekers back to Turkey on its land and sea borders. And the Greek authorities have continued to deny these allegations despite evidence to the contrary.

Supporters of the Prime Minister responded viciously to Ingeborg’s line of questioning as we earlier reported. In a span of days, matters escalated as the hate displayed online manifested into physical attacks on Ingeborg. Calling her a “Turkish spy” and a “who*re'', a man threw a stone at her in a supermarket. Ingeborg maintains that the Greek law enforcement agencies did not offer any support when she raised the issue.

Fortunately, her employer organization did step up and extend support. Editor-in-Chief of De Groene Amsterdammer,  Xandra Schutte, expressed her shock in an editorial, stating that “safety is of paramount importance right now”.

Local support groups such as Dutch Journalists Association NVJ also voiced their concern for her safety. In a statement issued on Tuesday, the association noted that “during the press conference, Bugel was merely working as a critical journalist, and the Greek government was threatening her journalism work in an aggressive and intimidating way. We need to support it [her journalism]”.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism is appalled at how quickly matters escalated. We had earlier reported on the issue when it first came to light and had urged the ruling party to reign in their support base. That was not done. And now we face a situation, where a credible journalist, asking legitimate questions, is being intimidated into silence. The lack of response from the Greek authorities is reprehensible and indicative of how little they value democratic principles. This does not bode well for the political development of the country.