FPA condemns arrest of photojournalist
The Foreign Press Association (FPA) on Tuesday condemned in the “strongest terms” the arrest and detention of one of its members, who was reporting during a police operation in a run-down housing complex in Athens.
In a statement, the association said that photojournalist Nikos Pilos was in the area in a professional capacity when the police operation started and that he was subsequently arrested, despite making his status known.
“We hold the authorities responsible and call on them to release our colleague immediately,” the association said.
“The association will immediately seek meetings with bodies to take measures to ensure the safety of journalists and foreign correspondents, in carrying out their work without restraint.”
On Tuesday, police in Athens detained over 50 people during a large-scale operation launched in a run-down housing estate on Alexandras Avenue that is mostly in the hands of squatters.
The operation was launched to apprehend a suspected arsonist who is accused of carrying out an attack on the offices of the Real media group in July, police said.
The man was located in the housing complex, called the Prosfygika as it was originally built to house Asia Minor refugees in the 1930s.
In 2019, Pilos, an Athens-based, award-winning photojournalist and filmmaker, started “The Refuge,” a cross-media, interactive project that documents life in the Prosfygika neighbourhood.
