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Today’s Brief

Hormuz tolls and Bastille armour

Trump strains Hormuz as Europe rearms and US politics loses a sanctions hawk

The serious news clustered around force and its price. Washington and Tehran traded blows around the Gulf, Europe put military solidarity on parade in Paris, and political shocks in Washington and Madrid complicated already fragile coalitions.

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World · Updated 55m ago

Important

The Middle East after Gaza

The direct use of one-way attack sea drones by US forces and Iran's formal re-launch of its Strait of Hormuz closure plan, including mine laying, represents a significant escalation in military tactics and direct confrontation.

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© Ειδήσεις - νέα - Το Βήμα Online
Government·3d ago

Greek deputy minister's home and office vandalised with 'Death to ND' and firebomb threats, Voloudaki says she will not be intimidated

Unknown individuals sprayed slogans on the home and political office of Deputy Minister of Migration and Asylum Sevi Voloudaki in Chania, Crete. The graffiti included 'Death to ND', 'Firebombs at your homes' and messages backing suspects in a fatal arson attack.

Overnight vandalism in Chania

Slogans were daubed on the family home and the political office of Deputy Minister of Migration and Asylum Sevi Voloudaki in Plateia Dikastirion, Chania, overnight. The graffiti, revealed by Voloudaki herself in a Facebook post, included the phrases "Death to ND" and "Firebombs at your homes", along with slogans supporting those arrested for an arson attack in Thessaloniki that killed Vagia Nestora. Voloudaki said she and her children were in the city at the time but not inside the house, adding that the perpetrators showed no concern for who might be inside.

The slogans written on my political office and my family's home do not frighten me and will not divert me from my duty.

— Sevi Voloudaki

Voloudaki's response

Speaking to SKAI radio, Voloudaki called the perpetrators "brazen cowards" and "cowardly", stating that they came right to the door of her family home and office. She insisted that neither she nor her children would be frightened and that she would continue on her path. The deputy minister underscored that democracy is not intimidated or terrorised, sending a message to the perpetrators and anyone attempting similar acts. She also revealed that among the graffiti were references supporting those arrested over the arson attack in Thessaloniki, and she accused them of persisting without remorse.

I am outraged that there are people who choose to stand on the side of the murderers of the mother of Afroditi Nestora.

— Sevi Voloudaki

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Government condemnation

Government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis labelled the act an organised effort of intimidation and a blunt assault on democracy. In a Facebook post, he stated that the targeting of individuals and families, the threat of violence and the cultivation of hatred have no place in a state governed by the rule of law. He called for unequivocal condemnation, insisting that those who tolerate such slogans bear enormous political and moral responsibility.

When some go as far as writing 'Death to ND' and 'Firebombs at your homes' outside the home of Deputy Minister Sevi Voloudaki and her family, we are not dealing with an act of protest. We are dealing with an organised effort of intimidation, a blunt assault on democracy. We are dealing with criminals.

— Pavlos Marinakis

The Thessaloniki arson link

The references to the Thessaloniki case tie the Chania slogans to a broader pattern of intimidation. Voloudaki told SKAI that the graffiti demanded freedom for those arrested over the fatal arson attack, and she asserted that those responsible show no repentance. She noted that the incident is a continuation of previous targeting, recalling that her office in Crete had been hit with slogans about a year earlier.

Sequence of events on 12 July 2026
  1. Overnight 11-12 JulyGraffiti sprayed on Voloudaki's home and political office in Chania
  2. Morning 12 JulyVoloudaki posts photos of slogans on Facebook, refusing to be intimidated
  3. Government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis condemns the attack on Facebook
  4. Later morning 12 JulyVoloudaki speaks to SKAI radio, reveals children were in the city during the incident

What comes next

Voloudaki said she will continue serving citizens with consistency and determination, defending the principles of democracy and the rule of law. Her Facebook post concluded with a firm message that fear had never been her choice and would not become one now. The deputy minister made clear that she will not be deterred by threats, and the government has signalled it will treat the matter as a serious attack on democratic institutions.

Chania
Sevi VoloudakiPavlos Marinakis
Pavlos MarinakisChaniaSevi Voloudaki

3 sources

  • Αγνωστοι έγραψαν συνθήματα στο σπίτι και στο πολιτικό γραφείο της Σέβης Βολουδάκη | ΤΟ ΒΗΜΑ
    Ειδήσεις - νέα - Το Βήμα Online·3d ago
  • Αγνωστοι έγραψαν συνθήματα στο σπίτι και στο πολιτικό γραφείο της Σέβης Βολουδάκη
    H Kαθημερινή·3d ago
  • Βολουδάκη στον ΣΚΑΪ: "Δεν θα με φοβίσουν ούτε εμένα ούτε τα παιδιά μου"
    ΣΚΑΪ·3d ago

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