Guardian
A prominent Greek crime journalist has been shot and killed near his home in Athens. George Karaivaz, a veteran journalist for the private broadcaster Star TV, was well known to Greeks for his coverage of law and order and police stories.
A government spokesperson said the killing had “shocked us all”. “Authorities are already investigating in order to arrest the perpetrators and bring them to justice,” Aristotelia Peloni said.
Police said Karaivaz was shot early on Friday afternoon by two people on a motorbike who fired multiple rounds near his home in Alimos, in the south of Athens. Twelve bullet casings were collected from the scene, a police official said.
There were no immediate reports of a possible motive, but police said the attack was clearly carefully planned. “It was a professional hit,” said the police official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
In a career that spanned decades, Karaivaz worked for several Greek newspapers and broadcast media, and also ran the news blog bloko.gr.
“The founder and owner of bloko.gr is no longer with us,” Karaivaz’s blog said. “Somebody chose to silence him, to stop him with bullets from writing his stories.”
According to reports, Karaivaz was married and had a child.
His fellow Star TV journalist Vaios Syrros said during the station’s afternoon news show: “I can’t even process this information, I’ve known this man for 32 years.”
While Greek media offices are frequently targeted in firebomb and vandalism attacks, killings of journalists are generally rare in Greece.
In July the tabloid owner Stefanos Chios survived after being shot in the neck and chest by a hooded man outside his home. The case is still under investigation.
In 2010 the radio manager, blogger and investigative journalist Sokratis Giolias was also shot dead outside his home. State TV said he had been working on a story about corruption at the time. A shadowy far-left group claimed responsibility for the crime but the case was never solved.
This Story First Appeared At The Guardian
