Greece: CFWIJ Condemns The Organized Online Harassment Against Journalist Ingeborg Beugel

Location: Greece, Athens
Date: November 11, 2021

Dutch journalist Ingeborg Beugel faced a vicious online harassment campaign after a heated exchange between herself and the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was televised. Ingeborg had pointedly questioned Mitsotakis regarding the Greek denial of their illegal treatment of refugees, in response to which the Prime Minister responded visibly angrily. Upon the exchange becoming public Ingeborg was accused of being an anti-state propagandist, and her professional credibility was put to task by state supporters online.

Ingeborg, who is a permanent resident of Greece, brought this question up in a joint press conference between Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte. Ingeborg was told she would only be given one opportunity to ask the question and she decided to use the moment to confront the Greek leader regarding the inhumane policy his country had adopted with the refugees and the subsequent denial of it. 

 "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 conference. 

Dissatisfied with the evasive responses initially offered, Ingeborg pushed back with, "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 angered the Prime Minister who responded that,“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." 

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

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

The supporters of the Prime Minister responded viciously to Ingeborg. They initiated an online harassment campaign accusing her of being a “pro-Turkish” propagandist and went on to question her professional credibility. Pro-government news channels also added to the noise, levelling baseless accusations against the journalist in order to intimidate her into silence. Several of the Prime Minister’s supporters went so far as to raise questions regarding her personal life in order to damage her reputation. There has been no response from official state channels regarding what are clearly bullying tactics by their support base.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism is appalled at the response Ingeborg Beugel received. It is her job as a journalist to question the highest authorities regarding the human rights violations being committed in Greek jurisdiction and actions that have incited international condemnation. The Prime Minister’s outright refusal to respond and stand to account to his people is reflective of the abuse of power he is being accused of. Allowing their support base and pro-government news channel to bully Ingeborg is absolute condemnable behaviour by the Greek authorities, who are directly threatening the democratic principles in the country.

The CFWIJ strongly condemns the police brutality against journalists. We demand the immediate return of the press cards seized from the security forces. Policies to intimidate journalists should be abandoned, and journalism should be practiced under the criteria of freedom of the press.

If you have been harassed or abused in any way, and please report the incident by using the following form.