Greece Starts Trial of Company Executives Linked to Spyware Scandal
Source: Balkan Insight
The trial of four executives linked to two companies involved in the wiretapping scandal that has shaken Greece opened on Thursday in Athens.
The four are accused of violating the privacy of telephone communications of the Greek financial journalist Thanasis Koukakis and Artemis Seaford, a Greek-American woman who worked for the social media company Meta.
They are Tal Dilian, founder of the Intellexa Consortium, which allegedly sold Predator spyware in Greece; his wife, Sara Aleksandra Fayssal Hamou, who provided managerial services to Intellexa, businessman Felix Bitzios, beneficial owner of Intellexa, and Giannis Lavranos, whose company, Krikel, purchased Predator.
The four defendants face misdemeanour charges for unlawfully accessing private communication systems and data, as well as for violating privacy and data protection laws.
Lawyers for the two foreign defendants requested the invalidity of the proceedings because the arraignment had not been translated into a language they understood. The court president rejected their request.
The trial will continue on April 23, when another issue related to the translation of documents in the case file will be decided. Nikos Androulakis, leader of the opposition PASOK party, who was monitored by the Greek secret service, EYP, and almost fell victim to Predator, is to be the first witness.
There are almost 50 witnesses, “many of whom we don’t know if they will testify”, Koukakis told BIRN. “We will request an expansion of the witnesses, and we will call witnesses who are not included in the arraignment,” he added.
Koukakis called it disappointing that various politicians, army officers, civil servants and state officials who were targeted by Predator and were informed about their monitoring by the Greek Data Protection Authority in July 2023 will not appear in the trial.
“The process already reveals the incomplete work done by Achilleas Zisis [the Supreme Court’s deputy prosecutor]; serious offences, not misdemeanours, have been committed,” Koukakis said.
The wiretapping scandal, known as Predator Gate or the Greek Watergate, which has occupied the Greek media since 2022, concerns the use of Predator software to monitor or attempt to monitor journalists, politicians and other public figures.
In July 2024, Zisis concluded that no state ministry or agency had used illegal Predator spy software or any other surveillance software; instead four individuals linked to private companies involved in the spyware are being prosecuted Under law changes made in 2019, the charges are being prosecuted as misdemeanours.
A debate has continued about whether the Supreme Court’s investigation was sufficient, and some of those targeted by Predator are considering taking their fight to the European Court of Human Rights.
The original article: belongs to Balkan Insight .
