Profile / Apostolis Fotiadis

Apostolis Fotiadis

Researcher/journalist

Apostolis covers EU policy issues including developments in population movement, security and defence, privacy and big data policies. In the past, he has co-operated with many international media outlets and organisations. He has authored numerous reports, published two books on EU migration and border control policies and has been a member of numerous cross-border investigations. He currently co-operates with investigative outlet Solomon and also works as a freelance researcher.

Apostolis's contributions

Europol AI

12 / 11 / 2025

Hungry for data: Inside Europol’s secretive AI program

Europol’s growing appetite for data and artificial intelligence is transforming European policing, largely out of public view, and without clear oversight.

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07 / 07 / 2025

Frontex unlawfully shared thousands of people’s personal data with Europol

Under the banner of fighting migrant smuggling, Frontex has collected, and unlawfully siphoned to Europol, personal data for years—quietly drawing thousands of migrants, as well as EU citizens aiding refugees, into a widening criminal dragnet through large-scale ‘covert interrogations’.

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09 / 04 / 2025

Poisoned Chalice: Is Frontex Director’s Clean-Up Operation Doomed to Failure?

Dutch former gendarmerie commander Hans Leijtens took the reins of Frontex with a vow to renew the EU border agency’s commitment to the rights of migrants. With Europe’s leaders taking a hard line on migration, is he fighting a losing battle?

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03 / 04 / 2024

Heavy fine for the Ministry of Migration’s surveillance systems

The Hellenic Data Protection Authority issued the Ministry a €175,000 fine in regards to their digital management systems “Centaur” and “Hyperion”. Solomon had previously revealed that the Ministry’s two flagship programs were designed and implemented without the required data privacy protections.

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15 / 06 / 2023

Just 0,07% of 819m border budget to Greece earmarked for Search and Rescue

As the European Commission chastises Greece for violent pushbacks and European officials express their grief over the deadly Pylos shipwreck, Greek authorities have been granted more than twice the amount of EU funding for border management from 2021 to 2027, compared to the previous grant.

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12 / 05 / 2023

EU Details Violations at Greece’s ‘Model’ Refugee Camps

Internal EU documents show Greece’s ‘new generation’ of refugee camps struggle to provide accommodations in line with asylum standards.

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04 / 05 / 2023

Is Edelman following Predator?

The president and CEO of a Greek company linked to communications giant Edelman attended an event organized on the Greek spyware scandal. That raises questions about whether Edelman is involved in the issue’s communication management on behalf of the Greek government. Solomon reveals documents extending Edelman's contract with the government.

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26 / 04 / 2023

After a personal data breach affecting 10 million customers, Cosmote & OTE appeal to cancel fine

Greece’s biggest telecommunications group seeks to overturn a €9.25 million fine following a breach of user records that exposed the data of millions of subscribers. The fine could have reached €130 million, according to the National Data Protection Authority.

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14 / 02 / 2023

Lack of transparency in the Greek Ministry of Migration’s €1.7 million in secret funding

When the Migration Minister created a classified fund he claimed full transparency, so that spending "would not need to be marked ‘confidential’ in the end". Three years later there has been no transparency at all.

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27 / 01 / 2023

Exclusive: ‘Whistleblowers’ Pile Pressure on EU Asylum Agency Chief After Dramatic Reshuffle

Malta-based agency rejects claims that it gave inaccurate information when questioned about recruitment practices.

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28 / 11 / 2022

Exclusive: Fears of ‘another Frontex’ as anti-fraud watchdog investigates EU asylum agency

The EU’s asylum agency is being investigated by the bloc’s anti-fraud watchdog, Solomon has learnt, following claims of serious mismanagement and neglect of human rights obligations.

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31 / 08 / 2022

Asylum Surveillance Systems Launched in Greece without Data Safeguards

With money from the EU’s pandemic-recovery fund, systems to monitor the movements of asylum seekers in Greece were designed and launched without basic data safeguards required under EU law.

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16 / 06 / 2022

Serbia: Green waves washing over polluted land

Citizens’ growing concern fueled by industrial investments and the urgent need to solve environmental issues has resulted in the election of Serbia’s first Green Party to parliament.

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Our Team

Iliana Papangeli

Managing Director

Iliana is a journalist and editor who has served as the Managing Director of Solomon since 2022. Under her leadership, Solomon has gained widespread recognition for its in-depth reporting on underreported issues in migration, accountability, and the environment, as well as for fostering cross-border collaborations and impactful storytelling. Iliana has also introduced a model of progressive leadership, with a strong commitment to prioritizing mental health and well-being within the Solomon team. Her work has earned her several prestigious accolades, including the IJ4EU Impact Award, the Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize, and the European Press Prize. She is a frequent speaker at international conferences and a strong advocate for well-being in newsrooms. She is a 2024 alumna of the LEDE program at Columbia University, and has served as a jury member for the IJ4EU Impact Award 2023 and the Evens Journalism Prize 2021. She holds a background in Psychology and Social Anthropology.

Stavros Malichudis

Chief Editor

Stavros is a reporter and editor. He has worked for the Agence France-Presse and inside story, and has participated in cross-border investigations with Lighthouse Reports and Investigate Europe. He’s member of Reporters United. His reports have been published in European media. He was shortlisted for the European Press Prize ‘21 and won the IJ4EU Impact Award ‘22. In 2019 he was selected as a fellow for BIRN's Balkan Fellowship for Journalistic Excellence (BFJE). He has been trained in data journalism at Columbia University in New York on a fellowship.

Corina Petridi

Investigative & data reporter

Corina is a journalist and data editor at Solomon. She has worked with VICE Greece, Reporters United, and Balkan investigative network BIRN. She has studied Political Science. In 2019, she won a scholarship to Columbia Journalism School's Lede Program on coding, data analysis, and visual storytelling. She has reported on migration, real estate, data privacy and gender.

Aristea Protonotariou

Chief Operations Officer

Aristea was born in 1994 and grew up on Kythira island, Greece. Her studies are in Journalism and Archives, Librarianship & Information Science. She was trained in Multimedia Journalism as an SNF scholar in Columbia University, NY. She holds an MA in Risk Communication and Crisis Journalism. Aristea is the founder of the “Migratory Birds”, the first newspaper in Greece made by and for refugee, migrant and Greek youth.

Danai Maragoudaki

Investigative reporter

Danai started working as a journalist in 2015. She has worked for several Greek media like inside story, VICE, and capital.gr. She is also a member of the investigative team The Manifold and the production team Paola Team Documentaries. Her reporting focuses on transparency and economics, technology, gender and LGBTQ+ rights. She has studied political science and translation.

Lydia Emmanouilidou

Investigative reporter & Fundraising strategist

Lydia is a journalist and audio producer with over a decade of experience in radio, print, and digital media. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, NPR, BBC, Al Jazeera, and other international outlets. She began her career at NPR’s Investigative Unit and has reported widely from Greece and across Europe, including as a foreign correspondent for The World, a BBC co-production airing on 300+ US public radio stations. Her reporting has earned top honors, including the 2024 IJ4EU Impact Award, the Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize, and a National Edward R. Murrow Award. Lydia regularly speaks at global journalism conferences and US universities, and contributes to editorial investigations and fundraising at Solomon.

Galatia Iatraki

Illustrator

Galatia creates illustrations for Solomon's stories. She studied and worked in Thessaloniki, the Netherlands and Crete in the field of information technology and multimedia. She has attended photography and archival practices seminars. Through photography and collage, she explores topics about contemporary social issues. She is currently based in Athens.

Gigi Papoulias

English editor

Gigi was raised in the US, a daughter of Greek immigrants. She graduated from Boston College with a concentration in Education and Modern Greek Studies. As a grant recipient at the University of Athens, she completed further coursework in Greek Studies. In her professional background, Gigi has provided writing, editing, translation and content development services to media and academic sectors, publishing companies and multinational corporations. She’s also taught at a multicultural kindergarten, worked in a restaurant kitchen, interpreted for immigration services at a US airport, sold t-shirts in Boston’s Faneuil Hall, and led meditation & mindfulness classes at a women’s center.

Nasruddin Nizami

Board member

Nasruddin is a board member and migration expert. He was born in Afghanistan and raised in Pakistan. He has worked as an interpreter, cultural mediator and case worker with IOM. He is a current board member of the Greek Council for Refugees. He has a degree in English Studies at Deree, the American College of Greece.