Publisher faces prison over Swiss bank names

A Greek publisher has appeared in court following publication in his magazine of a list of the names of more than 2,000 Greek residents with Swiss bank accounts, a case that has caused political controversy in the crisis-hit country.

Costas Vaxevanis was in court on a misdemeanour charge of violating data protection laws, after the weekend publication in Hot Doc magazine of a list of alleged depositors at an HSBC bank in Switzerland.

The trial was postponed until Thursday. Vaxevanis could face up to two years in prison if convicted.