Nicosia, Cyprus. The Union of Cyprus Journalists (UCJ) condemned comments by Alma MP Michalis Paraskevas about Phileleftheros journalist Frixos Dalitis, calling them offensive, unsubstantiated and damaging to the profession. The union urged Paraskevas to withdraw the remarks immediately.
Podcast comments
The comments were made during the Netcast Zone podcast, published online on July 13, in which Paraskevas described Dalitis as “guided” and a “propagandist” serving “political expediency”.
The UCJ said the allegations were groundless, sweeping and deeply offensive, and said it was unacceptable to damage the professional reputation of a journalist with more than 20 years of experience through what it described as careless and irresponsible accusations.
Call for clarification
The union said people in public life, including politicians and journalists, can legitimately face public criticism when it is evidence-based and expressed with civility.
It said Paraskevas’ comments bordered on intimidation and called on Alma’s leadership to clarify whether it endorsed conduct that the union said violated standards of political decency.
Professional mechanisms
According to the statement, Paraskevas also alleged more broadly that there are “guided journalists” and said the union was free to complain if it disagreed with his claims.
Responding, the ESK said it was a serious organisation with seven decades of history and would not engage in insults or sweeping accusations despite what it described as provocation.
It said complaints about a journalist’s work should be addressed through the profession’s established self-regulatory mechanisms rather than through public attacks.