Earlier, Androulakis described the ruling as a major defeat for the ‘parastate’, which he said was organised by the ‘system of the PM’s office’.

In a statement, he stressed that the case file is now being sent back to the prosecutor’s office for an investigation that will include, among other matters, the offence of espionage. He also announced that he will appeal to the European court of human rights.

The press conference comes after the court found all four defendants guilty without any mitigating circumstances in the Predator spyware case. In total, the four were sentenced to 126 years and eight months in prison, with eight years to be served. The court granted suspensive effect to their appeal.

After issuing its decision, the court accepted a proposal by the prosecutor, Dimitris Pavlidis, for further criminal investigation of specific people for specific offences. Androulakis said he felt vindicated by the court’s ruling.

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