Galatia Iatraki

28 / 08 / 2024

On Edge: Europe’s Farmers at a Mental Health Breaking Point

A new cross-border investigation in Greece, Spain, the Czech Republic, Romania and Poland documents how climate change, combined with European and national policies, has pushed farmers in Europe's 'periphery' to a breaking point.

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17 / 06 / 2024

Tracing the Path of Greece’s Plastic Waste

In collaboration with Greenpeace Greece and Basel Action Network, we put trackers on plastic waste from recycle bins and followed their path. Some turned up in landfills, while some was exported to the Balkans. In the end, many of the myths surrounding recycling were dispelled.

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21 / 05 / 2024

Testimony of Hellenic Coast Guard captain exonerates the “Pylos nine”

Nine Egyptian nationals, survivors of the deadly Pylos shipwreck, accused of smuggling and causing the vessel to sink, were found not guilty. Below is the statement given by the captain of PPLS-920, the only Coast Guard vessel present during the sinking of the Adriana in June 2023.

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02 / 05 / 2024

The “tradition” that kills thousands of turtle doves on Zakynthos

The government has expressed its intention to deal with the illegal hunting of the endangered European turtle dove in the Ionian Sea region − the unlawful practice has been an open secret for decades. But an investigation by Solomon documents the rampant dimensions of illegal poaching on Zakynthos. The Forestry Service remains understaffed, while internal records raise suspicions of a cover-up.

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10 / 04 / 2024

How European countries wrongfully classify children seeking asylum as adults

Thousands of children seeking protection in Greece, Italy, and the UK have likely been registered as adults – a failure with serious consequences.

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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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27 / 03 / 2024

Lost for Words: Lack of interpreters puts asylum seekers’ lives on hold in Greece

In detention-like facilities, asylum seekers have to wait for sometimes over a year for their asylum interviews due to lack of interpreters. And when the interviews take place, they sometimes blame interpreters’ mistakes for their rejections.

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26 / 02 / 2024

“An Open Secret”: How Frontex and the European Commission turned a blind eye to violent pushbacks in Bulgaria’s bid to join Schengen 

Internal documents obtained by Solomon, BIRN, Le Monde and Deutsche Welle reveal aggressive pushbacks, "disappearances" of unaccompanied children, and attacks by guard dogs at the Bulgarian border. The EU is well aware but considers the "excellent results" in Bulgaria’s border management.

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01 / 02 / 2024

“It was already too late”: Frontex blames the Hellenic Coast Guard for the Pylos shipwreck

Frontex’s internal report on the deadliest shipwreck in recent years, confirms the investigative reports by Solomon and our media partners. The Hellenic Coast Guard was slow to launch the rescue operation and later refused to answer specific questions.

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12 / 12 / 2023

How the Pylos tragedy could have been avoided

A Search and Rescue exercise, carried out just a few weeks after the shipwreck that claimed over 600 lives, raises questions about what the Hellenic Coast Guard did - and mainly did not do - on the evening of June 14, 2023.

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01 / 12 / 2023

Dead refugees in the Balkans: bribes to find missing relatives

In comparison to 2015, today more asylum seekers are dying on the Balkan route. While relatives are forced to overcome state indifference to identify their loved ones, they are also forced to bribe authorities, even border guards, in the hope of finding them.

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25 / 10 / 2023

Kythira shipwreck, one year later

They were rescued from a raging sea. Now, survivors and relatives of the October 2022 shipwreck are returning to Kythira to thank the residents.

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24 / 10 / 2023

Fish farms on Poros: Why the residents are against it

About 25% of the Saronic island is slated for the operation of fish farming units, which plan on increasing their activity by 670%. Municipal Authority and residents — who disagree with the plan — fear that the character of the island will change forever.

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06 / 07 / 2023

Under the unwatchful eye of the authorities’ deactivated cameras: dying in the darkest depths of the Mediterranean

A collaborative investigation by Solomon, Forensis, The Guardian and ARD presents the most complete tracing, to date, of the course that the fishing vessel Adriana took until it ultimately sank, causing over 600 people to drown − while under the supervision of Greek and European authorities. A document reveals that according to Frontex recommendations, the Coast Guard vessel was obligated to record the operation on video.

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15 / 06 / 2023

“They are urgently asking for help”: the SOS that was ignored 

The Hellenic Coast Guard stated that they did not commence a rescue operation to aid the fishing trawler overloaded with migrants before it eventually sank because the vessel refused assistance. International law experts, as well as active and former Coast Guard officials, refute this argument. In addition, communication between Alarm Phone and authorities (which are in Solomon’s possession), prove that the migrants on board had sent out an SOS – which was ignored.

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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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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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13 / 04 / 2023

Tal Dilian: How Mr Predator attempted to save his image

His name is linked to wiretapping scandals in Cyprus & Greece – the former Israeli intelligence officer is one of Europe’s most controversial figures. Solomon’s OSINT investigation reveals how a months-long campaign attempted to create a positive online narrative about Tal Dilian and his business activities.

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27 / 03 / 2023

Their sons were murdered by Neo-Nazis. Now they vow to keep their memory alive.

Serpil Temiz Unvar and Magda Fyssa, who lost their sons to racist crime in Germany and Greece, join forces to fight against far-right violence—so that the murders stop.

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23 / 03 / 2023

Pushbacks: MEPs ask for explanations after a report by Solomon & El País reveals mistreatment and exploitation of refugees

The president of the LIBE Committee and Spanish MEPs have asked the EU to investigate recent revelations and have proposed making adherence to human rights law a condition for the allocation of EU funds to Greece.

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09 / 03 / 2023

The Great Robbery: during illegal pushbacks in Greece, refugees are robbed by border guards

Solomon's investigation, in collaboration with the Spanish newspaper El País, reveals that Greek security forces have stolen more than €2 million from refugees during pushbacks.

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04 / 03 / 2023

#MoriaTrialWatch: Monitoring the trial of the Moria Six

#MoriaTrialWatch, an initiative by Solomon and omniatv, will publish a live feed of the proceedings on 6 March 2023.

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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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18 / 11 / 2022

Exclusive: UN Letter Documents Greek Pushback of Turkish Asylum Seekers

In March, eight Turks reached Greece by boat, fearing persecution in their homeland. The UN urged Greece to provide protection, but instead the men were pushed back to sea and into the arms of the Turkish police.

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18 / 10 / 2022

“The food we eat”: Solomon offers support to two investigative journalists

Invitation for application | Support for journalists wishing to investigate issues related to food systems.

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06 / 07 / 2022

No closer to heaven — transgender asylum-seekers in Greece

For many transgender asylum-seekers, their arrival in Greece only drags them deeper into misery.

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Iliana Papangeli

Managing Director

Iliana is a journalist and editor with a focus on migration and the environment. She has been nominated for the European Press Prize 2021 and won the IJ4EU Impact Award 2022. She has participated in several cross-border investigations and her work has been published in media across Europe. She has served as a jury at the IJ4EU Impact Award 2023 and the Evens Journalism Prize 2021. She has 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

Journalist & data editor

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

Administrator

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.

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.

Danai Maragoudaki

Journalist

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.

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.

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.

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.