Prosecutor recommends guilty verdict for suspects in journalist Karaivaz’s murder
The prosecutor in the trial for the murder of journalist Giorgos Karaivaz recommended that the court find both defendants guilty, it was reported on Monday.
The defendants are accused of premeditated homicide and illegal possession of firearms, however, it remains unclear who ordered them to carry out the murder.
After evaluating the evidence, the prosecutor rejected all the claims of the two defendants (who are brothers, aged 49 and 41), who argue that they had no involvement in the murder.
In her statement, the prosecutor emphasized that Karaivaz’s murder was linked to organized crime and argued that the motive for his murder might be connected to Karaivaz’s reporting and the revelations he intended to make.
“He was a police reporter for a long time, he had information on how criminal organizations operate. He intended to make some revelations, this might be the motive for his murder. What he wrote might have disturbed or there might have been a fear of revelations,” the prosecutor noted.
An experienced crime reporter, Karaivaz had private and professional connections in the Greek underworld and among corrupt police officers connected to it. He was also a key witness in a 2015-2017 National Intelligence Service probe into dirty police and sex/gambling rackets.
He was murdered with multiple gunshots outside his home in Athens in April 2021.
His murder drew widespread condemnation from the European Union, foreign journalist associations and NGOs.
