Greek comedian gets suspended sentence for online sex videos

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — A Greek TV comedian was given a suspended prison sentence Wednesday after being convicted of posting on the internet sex videos of his former partner without her consent, a case that prompted a public debate on online privacy abuses.

A court in the northern city of Thessaloniki sentenced the 58-year-old defendant to five years in prison — suspended for three years — for breaches of Greek privacy laws and fined him 10,000 euros ($11,500).

Greek media identified him as Stathis Panagiotopoulos, a member of the popular “Radio Arvyla” (“Unconfirmed Rumors”) show. Panagiotopoulos was removed from the show in December after a former partner alleged that he had posted online, without her consent, videos of them having sex.

Wednesday’s case concerned a separate incident involving videos of another woman, who made a complaint in 2019. The defendant’s lawyer said his client, who was not present in court, claimed he had not intended to cause suffering to the woman, had tried to get the video removed and wanted to apologize.

He faces separate charges for another two incidents in which pornographic material was allegedly posted online without the consent of the women involved.