Amnesty condemns Greek blogger conviction

Amnesty International has expressed “serious concern” over the conviction of a Greek blogger who was sentenced to 10 months in prison for creating a social networking page that mocked a prominent Greek Orthodox monk.   The human rights group’s Greek office on Monday called the conviction last week a “blow to freedom of expression.”   Philippos Loizos is free pending appeal of his conviction last week on blasphemy-related charges. The 29-year-old’s page on Facebook referred to the monk, Elder Paisios, who died in 1994, as Elder “Pastitsios” — Greek for macaroni pie. The blogger’s arrest in 2012 caused a stir among his supporters on the Internet and protesters outside parliament.   Associated Press