In Part 1 of this series, we looked at how the legal criminalisation of people on the move is linked to and supported by the institutional language used by the Coast Guard in its official reporting. Analysing report titles on the Coast Guard's news page between September 2023 and September 2024, we observed a growing trend of framing Search and Rescue Operations as ‘anti-smuggling’ efforts, using increasingly harsher language.

This violent stance was also reflected in the Coast Guard’s actions. In the summer of 2024, at least 3 incidents surfaced in which the Coast Guard fired at boats carrying people. The following analysis explores how these incidents were framed by Greek news outlets and the extent to which the Coast Guard’s narrative was echoed and reproduced.

How were the 3 violent incidents reproduced by Greek media outlets?

Major Greek media outlets often replicate the Hellenic Coast Guard's narrative when reporting on incidents at sea involving people on the move. To explore this trend, we examine how 3 of Greece’s top online news platforms - in.gr, Kathimerini, and Proto Thema - covered the gunfire incidents during the summer of 2024.

For context, it is important to understand the general editorial line of these outlets. In.gr has recently become more critical of the government, yet its reporting often reflects official narratives. In contrast, Kathimerini and Proto Thema, Greece's most widely read outlet, tend to align closely with government perspectives in their coverage. This alignment is not an isolated case.

Greek media -including news sites- are concentrated in the hands of a few powerful individuals, contributing to the country's low ranking in press freedom. At the same time, public media is overseen by the government spokesperson, further threatening editorial independence. In 2024, Greece ranked 88th out of 180 countries, remaining last among EU member states for another year.

The three incidents:

5 July 2024:

On 5 July an incident reported by the Hellenic Coast Guard involved an exchange of gunfire with a boat carrying people on the move close to Chios island. Kathimerini mentioned only the shots fired at the Coast Guard, omitting their response. Proto Thema and In.gr shared two videos from the incident: one, showing a man on the migrant boat firing towards the Coast Guard immediately after the patrol vessel approached dangerously close, and a second depicting the Coast Guard pointing a gun at the boat. Despite the evidence in these videos, Proto Thema and in.gr followed the narrative that the Coast Guard fired in response to gunfire from smugglers, suggesting it acted according to protocol.

Proto Thema Newspaper, 5 August, 2024

5 August 2024:

The Hellenic Coast Guard reported that a speedboat disembarking people on the move in Symi island ignored warnings to stop, leading to a chase. After dangerous manoeuvres, two warning shots were fired, followed by two targeted shots at the boat's engine. The boat was immobilised and one person was injured and hospitalised. Kathimerini, Proto Thema and in.gr echoed the Coast Guard’s account, focusing on the chase and omitting details about the driver's injury, such as its cause and severity. However, in.gr did note that the injured individual remained hospitalised.

Kathimerini newspaper, 23 August 2024

23 August 2024:

According to the Hellenic Coast Guard, on August 23, a suspicious speedboat was identified northwest of Symi island. After signals to stop were ignored and allegedly dangerous manoeuvres threatened the Coast Guard's safety, they fired warning shots and targeted the boat's engine. A 39-year-old man was found fatally injured, likely by a bullet. Two individuals were arrested as smugglers. Kathimerini reproduced this narrative, using in the title the phrasing ‘one foreigner dead’ and highlighting in bold phrases like ‘dangerous manoeuvres’ and ‘the Coast Guard fired’, while downplaying that the Coast Guard’s actions resulted in a death. Proto Thema and in.gr similarly focused on the boat's alleged threat to the Coast Guard.

16 January 2024:

Greece was condemned by the European Court of Human Rights for the same type of practices repeated in the summer of 2024. More specifically, Greece was found guilty of breaching Article 2 ECHR in the 2014 fatal Coast Guard shooting of a person on the move near Pserimos island. This went almost unreported in mainstream news media. From the 3 news outlets included in this analysis, only in.gr seems to have covered this significant ruling, while Kathimerini and Proto Thema remained silent.

What the above tells us is that public opinion in Greece is widely formed on the basis of the state narrative which goes unquestioned by many major news outlets, reinforcing negative stereotypes. When it comes to people on the move attempting to reach the EU through Greece, these are often portrayed as security threats.

Conclusion

Criminalisation of migration and people on the move is widespread in Greece and it happens at multiple levels. Legal frameworks that criminalise migration are supported and amplified by narratives created by state institutions and are then reproduced by media outlets. This cycle helps form the social imaginary of Greek society around immigration, framing new arrivals as a threat. The resulting public discourse fosters a climate of fear and hostility towards people on the move, which in turn leads to broader public support for increased border enforcement and stricter migration policies.

Words and research by Maria Kalochristianaki

Criminalising Migration in Greece: State and Media Reporting ( Part Two of Two)