wiretapping

The Predator hacking scandal also known as “Predatorgate” had it all: eavesdropping on politicians, journalists and judges, exports of illegal software to dictatorial regimes, and resignations of high-ranking government officials.

Two years later, all officials of the Greek government appear to be avoiding the attribution of relevant responsibilities, Politico writes in its publication.

In a 300-page report seen by the magazine, Supreme Court Deputy Prosecutor Achilleas Zisis argued that a series of illegal Predator surveillance concurrent with official government surveillance was coincidental and that government agencies or officials cannot be held responsible for infecting devices with the illegal software.

The report was submitted to the prosecutor Georgia Adelini, who last Tuesday decided to charge the executives of the companies that produced and bought the illegal Predator software with misdemeanors and to drop the case.

The opposition was quick to attack the findings, questioning the country’s judicial independence and calling it a “day of shame” for Greece. An attempt to call for a new parliamentary inquiry was blocked by the government’s majority in parliament last Friday.

The scandal unfolded in August 2022 with an attempt to install Predator on the phone of PaSoK president Nikos Androulakis, a former member of the European Parliament, followed by revelations that the New Democracy government had tapped Androulakis’ phone using legitimate state tools.

Investigative journalists, civil rights groups and the independent National Intelligence Service soon revealed how the National Intelligence Service (NIA) had subjected an expanded list of journalists and politicians – including half the cabinet – to wiretapping and surveillance. Illegal tracking software was installed on the phones of some of them at the exact same time.

Mr. Zisi’s report confirmed that of the 116 cases identified as spyware targets, 28 phone numbers were under legitimate government surveillance at the time of the malware infection. But the Supreme Court dismissed it as a “coincidence”, stating that “the two methods of surveillance have no relation to each other”.

The report identified Greek software developer Intellexa as being linked to Predator and included evidence of its connection to Greek software provider Krikel, a supplier to the Greek government between 2018 and 2022.

The findings concluded that four businessmen – three from Intellexa and one from Krikel – should be prosecuted for “breaching the privacy of telephone communications” and “illegal access to an information system”.

Unanswered questions

Some legal experts criticized the findings, criticizing how the deputy prosecutor left many pieces of evidence untouched and did not adequately counsel the victims.

“The investigation was incomplete and superficial,” said Mr. Zacharias Kesses, a lawyer defending journalist Thanasis Koukakis, one of the victims of the spyware who was also under state surveillance.

Mr Kesses argued that the prosecutor had failed to investigate how the illegal surveillance of top ministers, political and military leaders are potentially serious crimes. “Privileged treatment and immunity were granted to members of the spy agency and those responsible for its oversight,” he said.

The report considers that only the phones of Koukakis and former Meta employee Artemis Sifford were infected by the illegal Predator software, labeling all other cases as attempts. But lawyers for the victims say there are others who were infected, including former minister Christos Spirtzis.

Zisis also did not request the opening of the accounts of companies connected to Intellexa.

The government has repeatedly rejected claims that blame for the scandal lies with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis himself, saying any wrongdoing has been carried out by “dirty networks” within the intelligence services.

The scandal has led to the resignation of Grigoris Dimitriadis and Panagiotis Kontoleon, who were heads of the EYP. Both were subpoenaed by authorities to testify late last month, but not as suspects. Dimitriadis was called in June to testify only as a witness, and his residence was never searched, even though it was initially requested by the judicial authorities.

Nikos Androulakis, whose file was allegedly destroyed by the state agency despite legal requirements that all files must be kept for two years, appealed the government’s handling of his case to the European Court of Human Rights.

The Predator was exported to Sudan and Madagascar by the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The ministry later said it was conducting an internal investigation, but never announced the results or whether there were any penalties.

The court rulings once again raise questions about the independence of the Greek judiciary, reports Politico.

In March, the United States government announced a “first-of-its-kind” sanctions package against Intellexa and its leadership after the company was involved in targeting US government officials. The announcement marks the first time the government has sanctioned a commercial spyware entity.

“Eavesdropping through the state agency cannot be uncontrolled and unjustified,” said ADAE president Christos Rammos.
Zisi’s findings “disappointed all of us, ordinary citizens and lawyers, who want to believe in the integrity of the Greek justice system,” said Nikos Alivizatos, professor emeritus of constitutional law at the University of Athens.