Pressure on New Democracy to expel MP for “targeting migrants’ children” (UPD)

A public outcry broke out on Tuesday when New Democracy MP and former journalist Konstantinos Bogdanos retweeted a post of a website that was targeting children of migrants in a kindergarten in Athens. The website owned by the MP’s wife had published a list of the children’s names as well that of the teacher’s under the headline “Shocking list”, deploring the fact that the majority of the children appeared to be of migrant origin.

The list was deleted as “a mistake” but the article remained and the issue did not ended there as the public and opposition parties continued the pressure.

On Wednesday, the MP posted on social media that he made a “mistake” regarding a post he retweeted on Twitter on Tuesday. He also denied claims that he owns the site that published the story.

“[On Tuesday] a mistake was made, which was corrected and there was an apology. My mistake was that I retweeted something that I did not check,” he said, noting that his critics were being malicious.

The website announced that it had stopped collaboration with the reporter who posted the article.

Opposition calls on Gov’t to expel the MP

In the wake of the outcry, opposition parties called on ruling New Democracy to expel Bogdanos from the party.

“Mr Bogdanos reproduced an article from a well-known far-right website, which in its original form published the names of kindergarten children in Athens,” main opposition SYRIZA said in a statement.

“This is a criminal and horrific act that targets young children by inciting acts of violence against them,”  SYRIZA added and lambasted Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis for what it said was the inclusion in his government of members of the far right and Holocaust deniers.

Socialist KINAL/PASOK said the publication of the names of kindergarten students by a government MP is “a vile, cowardly, and far-right act. With no excuses.”

“If Bogdanos remains in the parliamentary group of New Democracy it will mean, in the clearest way, that his ideas and practices are tolerated,” it added.

MeRA25 said  “we are waiting the expulsion and removal of Bodganos from New Democracy,” noting that “the MP threatens with lawsuits journalists and citizens falsely claiming that the lists was not published although many internet users took screenshots and saved the article with the list.”

New Democracy reaction

On Thursday, the Greek government fully covered the MP with government spokesman to say that publishing the list was “wrong.”

“Mr Bogdanos’ action was a mistake. It was an action that is not in line with the principles and history of our party, it was a mistake that he acknowledged, apologizing for the fact that the details of children that had been published were made public,” government spokesman Yiannis Oikonomou.

The spokesman warned  “I must make it clear that similar mistakes will not be tolerated in the future  It goes without saying that all party members must follow this principle.”

SYRIZA calls on Justice to intervene

The Prime Minister should have already expelled ND MP Bogdanos from the party, said Nasos Iliopoulos, the spokesperson of SYRIZA to both Skai TV and ‘Sto Kokkino’ FM on Thursday afternoon.

Prosecutor intervenes

Late on Thursday, a prosecutor ordered an investigation into the publication of a list of names of migrant children at the Athens kindergarten.

The prosecutor will seek the cooperation of the police’s cyber-crime unit to identify the original source of the leak and examine whether any other persons were involved or linked in handling the personal data file.