Minister links journalist’s murder to organized crime

Journalist Giorgos Karaivaz, who was gunned down outside his home in southern Athens on Friday, took a total of 10 bullets to his body, according to the results of an autopsy presented on Saturday by the deputy minister for citizens’ protection.

Speaking to state-run broadcaster ERT, Lefteris Economou suggested a link between the killing and organized crime. There has been a series of suspected contract killings in the past three years, he said, pointing to an “open war” between rival gangs.

However, he stressed that it was still too early to make assumptions regarding the exact motives of Friday’s execution-style murder.

The autopsy showed that the victim received six bullets to the chest, two in the head and one each in the neck and left palm. Karaivaz was shot by two men on a motorcycle, who investigators believe were “professional assassins.”