Seraphim Phyntanidis, veteran journalist and chief editor of Eleftherotypia daily for many decades, was arrested Tuesday for debts to the state and is expected to appear before court on Wednesday facing misdemeanor charges.
The 77-year-old journalist’s initial debt to the state in Value Added Taxes was 55,000 Euros, which does not exceed the 75,000 Euros limit set by the deputy prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Greece, Mr. Nikos Pantelis, to qualify as a major offence.
According to Proto Thema information, Mr. Phyntanidis tried to find the money to pay his debts but he failed to do so in time, and must therefore appear before the prosecutor. Moreover, his wife Virginia Ventourakis is also being sought by the authorities for debts to the state.
Seraphim Phyntanidis had been arrested before on charges related to contempt of anti-terrorism laws in 1991, after the Mitsotaki government had announced a ban on publishing terrorism communiqués. Being chief director of Eleftherotypia, Phyntanidis defied the ban and published the whole text of 17N, then was arrested the following day along with six other newspapers editors.
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