The well-known journalist was released on Sunday morning (6.7.25) by order of the prosecutor, after being arrested in Volos and accused of extorting the MP of Magnesia, Zetta Makri.
It is recalled that the journalist, who owns a local news website in Volos, was arrested yesterday by police officers inside a café in the city, found in possession of marked banknotes given to him by Zetta Makri, who had already alerted the authorities.
Prosecution has been filed against the journalist for a misdemeanour charge. According to reports, he claims that he issued invoices for the money he received, even citing a related app on his mobile phone as proof.
‘He systematically asked for money in exchange for not writing negative articles about me. Initially, he asked for €15,000, then we negotiated down to €10,000 to make it believable,’ said Zetta Makri, a New Democracy MP, in new statements regarding the incident.
‘I had decided from the beginning that I would not give him the money,’ she added. ‘Because we are from a small area and know each other — and I had a good personal relationship with this journalist — I hesitated whether I should go ahead and report him,’ she explained during an appearance on the show ‘Dekatiani’ on SKAI TV.
‘I waited for some sign from him indicating he wouldn’t demand the money. It took me about three months to make my decision to proceed, during which time he remained waiting because I told him I needed time to gather the funds,’ she emphasized.