A Greek investigative journalist faces trial on Thursday on a charge of interfering with sensitive personal data after he published a list of some 2,059 Greek residents who hold Swiss bank accounts, some of whom are suspected of evading taxes.

Police on Sunday detained and later released Kostas Vaxevanis, one day after he published a list of names of Greek residents who hold bank accounts at the HSBC bank in Geneva in a special edition of his Hot Doc magazine.

Reports indicated that Vaxevanis expected the arrest. Police arrested him in the northern suburbs of Athens minutes after he posted his whereabouts on the website Twitter and challenged police waiting outside to pick him up, according to Athens News. He was released three hours later and ordered to appear in court today, but the hearing was deferred to Thursday.

One of Vaxevanis’ attorneys told the New York Times that he could face at least one year in prison and a fine of €30,000 if found guilty of the misdemeanour charge.

The list has been politically sensitive in Greece for two years. In 2010, then-French Minister of Finance and current Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde gave the list to Greek authorities. Media in Greece have reported that some of the names on the list, which reportedly include high-profile politicians and businesspeople, may be tax dodgers, and Greek ministers have faced accusations that they have avoided taking any action. A spokesperson for police, however, told Reuters: “There is no proof that the persons or companies included in that list have violated the law…on tax evasion or money laundering.”

The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), said in a statement that it thought press freedom and the right of the public to know, in addition to data privacy protection, needed to be respected.

SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic said: “I call on the court to establish if the list published by Hot Doc is a violation of privacy. At the same time, the court should take into account that the public has the right to know if account holders are also tax dodgers, especially now, when Greeks are expected to endure severe economic cuts. As a press freedom organisation, we believe that the public has the right to know and that journalists should not be detained. I condemn the detention of Vaxevanis.”