| Country | Xanthi, Greece |
| Year | 2022 |
| Affected group/minority | Turkish community in Western Thrace |
| Perpetrator | Unknown person |
| Type of case | Hate speech |
| Type of act |
Verbal attack |
| Media | Traditional media (printed, radio, TV) |
| Reactions | The members and representatives of civil society organisations of the Turkish community in Western Thrace widely condemned the hate speech towards Zeybek whilst the authorities remained mute. |
Brief description:
SYRIZA Deputy Hüseyin Zeybek was threatened with death by a viewer who was connected by phone to the ‘‘Anihti Grami (Open Line)’’ programme in a live broadcast on the local Next TV from Xanthi. The person accused Zeybek of being a ‘‘spy of the Turks’’ and said that he would ‘‘kill him if war broke out between Türkiye and Greece’’.
In a statement on his social media account, Deputy Hüseyin Zeybek condemned the person who threatened him and Panos Papadopoulos, the journalist who presented the programme. Zeybek stated that the presenter continued the conversation with the citizen instead of condemning his statements that receiving threats against his life on live television exceeded all boundaries and that the primary role of the media was to defend democracy, not hatred.
More information on the case can be obtained through the links:
https://avim.org.tr/en/Bulten/DEATH-THREAT-TO-XANTHI-TURKISH-DEPUTY-ON-LIVE-BROADCAST
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