Phone spyware scandal deepens in Greece as four appear in court

Greece’s Watergate: It is known as Spyware Software and Greek intelligence, targeted the mobile phones of state ministers, senior military officers, judges and journalists.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called it scandal, but no government officials were blamed in court, and critics do not accuse the government of trying to cover up the truth.

Instead, a low judge will hear the case against the two Israelis and two Greeks, allegedly related to marketing spyware known as the predator.

In the summer of 2022, Nikos Androulakis, the president of the current socialist party Pasok, was informed by an MEP – EU Parliament’s IT experts that he received a malicious text message from an unknown sender containing spy software.

This predatory spyware, marketed by Athens-based Israeli Company Intellexa, can access a device’s messages, camera and microphone-turns a person’s phone against them.

After Androulakis, Jobs discovered that Greece’s National Intelligence Service (EYP) was followed by “national security reasons”.

Only a month after he took office in the summer of 2019, Prime Minister Kyriakos took the Mitsotakis EYP directly under his supervision.

The conservative government was suddenly in the heart of the crisis. EYP President Panagiotis Kondoleon resigned like Grigoris Dimitriadis, the best assistant and nephew of the Prime Minister, who was the contact between EYP and the Prime Minister’s office.

According to predatory data protection authority, Predator was used in attempts to grab at least 87 people. Twenty -seven of those who have been supervised were watched at the same time by EYP, including serving ministers and senior military officers.

Despite the criticism of EYP and Predator’s common objectives implying a common surveillance strategy, the government insisted that it was a coincidence and that no law enforcement force did not use the illegal Predator in Greece at the time. A new law adopted in 2022 has been legalized under strict conditions of state security use of surveillance software since then.

However, the government did not respond to why secret services were a member of the Cabinet member and today that the National Defense Chief of Defense General Staff, Lieutenant General Constantine Floros and Kostis Hatzidakis, then caused the vice president of the government today.

A report made by the Greek Supreme Court of the Greek Supreme Court in July 2024 concluded that there was “no clear connection” between Predator and government officials.

Government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis told reporters, “A prosecutor has a report and answers are clear. Justice spoke. There is no doubt when they said.”

BBC contacted again and again with Mr. Marinakis to comment on this issue, but did not receive a response during the broadcast.

Four private people on Wednesday in Athens are faced with misdemeanor charges that are allegedly linked to the marketing of the hunter. Opposition and guard, two of the defendants are said to have ties with the state officials, but never seriously investigated, he said.

Thanasis Koukakis, a financial correspondent investigating corruption, said, “What started as a political scandal has become a corporate scandal by tying both the judiciary and independent authorities.”

Inside Story journalist Eliza Trintafyllou reported about the scandal from the very beginning.

“If someone had not followed the television scandal, they would have thought that four people had touched the phones of 87 people in Greece by using advanced spyware to the state intelligence services and law enforcement authorities for their own initiative and their personal reasons.”

“No Service Minister, Judge or Military Officers have not filed a complaint when he was targeted with Predator so far. Nor was he called to witness as a witness.” He said.

After the scandal exploded, the Greek government enacted a new law on the confidentiality of communication.

There is now more assurance for law enforcement officers, but the new legislation has been criticized because it effectively deprives citizens about the right to learn whether they have been under surveillance before.

In addition, the Greek government ministers and members of the army received criticism because of the lack of desire to learn who spies – only the authorities, the telekting scandal erupted months after the Intellexa offices in Athens after raving. They left his empty hand.

At the time of the scandal, Christos Rammos, a former senior judge and Helen Communication Safety and Privacy Authority (ADAE), was an important figure in revealing the facts behind the tendency. It was not an easy job and faced many obstacles on the road.

“The political system independent officials in Greece cannot tolerate power controls and balances. The issue of Siretping was a traumatic experience for our democracy,” Rammos said, ” “I was subjected to personal attacks. It was a clear war.”

The phone scandal has received international interest and examination since Nikos Androulakis, one of the first victims. He established a special investigation committee to investigate the use of the European Parliament, Pegasus and equivalent surveillance spyware (PEGA).

The former MEP Sophie in the former MEP Sophie said that the Greek government has made every attempt to conceal the truth. He rejected cooperation at every opportunity. “

“The whole spy software event is not something you can see alone. It does not happen in a space. It is used to silence critical sounds. It is used to suppress the review. However, damaged;

“Now I was going back from a coffee with a friend who looks at spyware and said, ‘I can’t be sure that my phone is safe from the Greek government’ – literally of the word. ‘