Court upholds TV station fine for vulgar language in satirical show

The Council of State on Monday approved a fine imposed by the Greek National Council for Radio and Television (ESR) on the private Alpha television channel for a show featuring popular Greek television comedian Lakis Lazopoulos that aired nearly four years ago.

The show in October 2011, which depicted Lazopoulos as a deck hand on a ship discussing political developments with a colleague, “goes beyond satire… and lacks the quality demanded by the Constitution and by Greek law,” the decision said.

The performers in the show, part of Lazopoulos’s Al Tsandiri News series, “used vulgar words and phrases,” according to the ESR.

In its ruling, the country’s highest administrative court upheld the 30,000-euro fine, deeming that Alpha channel was obliged to use “polite” language, as dictated by ESR regulations, even in satirical shows.