Bomb Neutralized Outside Home of Journalist Pretenteris

An explosive device comprised of five kilos of ammonium-based TNT and a detonator was first discovered and then defused on Thursday afternoon by a Greek police ordnance disposal unit outside the Athens-area home of “To Vima” publisher Yannis Pretenteris.

An investigation was commenced by a police anti-terrorist squad, while the fire brigade remained on the scene.

Pretenteris is one of Greece’s best-known journalists, columnists and television pundits.

Had the bomb exploded it would have caused wide-spread damage, experts later stated, due to the quantity of the explosives used. The area remained cordoned-off in the late afternoon.

Terrorist attacks, online harassment and threats against well-known journalists have been recorded in the past, with some arrests made.

Journalist’s first reaction

In a later statement on the primetime newscast of Mega Channel, Pretenteris referred to a “violation of his privacy and safety.”

“It’s very difficult to experience this invasion of your privacy, of your home, to have someone else go and burn it down. For what reason? Because he doesn’t agree with you, because he doesn’t agree with what you say or what you write or what he hears? In just 24 hours we’ll be celebrating 51 years of democracy’s restoration, it’s really unsettling that in our democracy these kinds of minds continue to circulate among us; people that go around and burn down someone else’s home – you have to be deranged. We’ll tolerate them as long as bombs don’t go off,” he said.