Greek Lagarde list publisher accused without reason, court told

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/nov/01/greek-lagarde-list-publisher-court

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Lawyers for a journalist who published the names of more than 2,000 wealthy Greeks believed to be holding Swiss bank accounts have argued he should not be on trial.

Kostas Vaxevanis, editor of Hot Doc, a weekly magazine, was surrounded by fellow journalists and other supporters who packed the courtroom in Athens as his lawyers began their defence.

They said he had been charged without any of those on the so-called Lagarde list having filed a complaint about privacy violation, a rare occurrence in a freedom of speech or defamation case in Greece.

"He's been accused without reason," said Nicos Constantopoulous, Vaxevanis's lawyer and a former leftist politician. "The principles of a fair trial are not being followed."

Vaxevanis's arrest and trial following publication at the weekend has enraged many people already furious over consecutive governments' failure to crack down on a rich elite whom they blame for years of recession.

Under Greek laws covering sensitive data, a defendant must stand trial within 48 hours if arrested within a day of charges being filed in absentia. Vaxevanis could face up to two years in prison if convicted.

He has said he received the list – named after the International Monetary Fund head, Christine Lagarde, who gave it to authorities in several EU countries in 2010 when she was French finance minister – from an anonymous source.

The daily Ta Nea newspaper also published the 2,059 names, which include those of several politicians as well as many businessmen, shipping magnates, doctors and lawyers. It said the accounts had held about €2bn until 2007, but also made clear there was no evidence that any of the account holders had broken tax evasion laws.