PASOK calls the day ‘historic for Greek democracy’

PASOK’s parliamentary spokesman, Dimitris Mantzos, described the verdict as ‘historic for Greek democracy’, saying that ‘a judge and a prosecutor at the single-member misdemeanour court saved the honour of the state and of justice’ in the wiretapping case. He stressed that the court had convicted those involved for deploying the illegal Predator spyware, which he said ‘constituted a threat to the core of democracy’, and noted that the judiciary was forwarding the case file to the prosecutor’s office for further investigation, including into potential acts of espionage. He also questioned why ‘other victims of Predator’ had not come forward as prosecution witnesses.

Evangelos Venizelos, the former PASOK leader and constitutional law scholar, was sharper still, also taking aim at an anticipated constitutional revision. ‘Cases involving open wounds in the body of the rule of law, such as wiretapping, are not closed because the government and its parliamentary majority want them to be,’ he said. ‘The criminal court audience can develop a dynamic that elevates the single-member misdemeanour court to the level of a model for the high echelons of justice — not only through the court’s decision but also through the trial minutes incorporated into it, which constitute the recording of an institutional crime committed by complicit parastatals.’ He warned that he hoped ‘the new idea for revising the constitution will not be the abolition of the guarantees of Article 19 for the confidentiality of communications’, adding: ‘After all, fortunately, there are judges not only in Athens but also in Strasbourg.’

PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis described the verdict as ‘a great defeat for the parastate organised by the the prime minister’s office’, noting that it was the direct result of the lawsuit he had filed in 2022. He said the decision also ‘exposes the handling of the leadership of the judiciary, which archived serious aspects of this vile case, which not only flagrantly violated human rights and the rule of law, but also jeopardised the security of the country when the leadership of the armed forces was indiscriminately placed under surveillance, allowing unknown third parties to possess this material.’

Androulakis also criticised ministers and government officials who, he said, ‘although they had a political and institutional duty to be accusers, witnesses and persecutors, preferred silence and collaborated in the cover-up.’ He stated that despite pressure to abandon the legal and political battle, he had never considered doing so. ‘The struggle will continue until all the protagonists of this dark affair are held accountable,’ he said. ‘The next stop is the European Court of Human Rights for the government’s compliance with the decision of the country’s supreme court.’ He called on the prime minister to instruct the National Intelligence Service (EYP), which Mitsotakis had placed under his personal supervision, to comply with the Council of State ruling and disclose the grounds on which Androulakis had been surveilled.

New Left calls for coordination of progressive opposition

New Left leader Alexis Charitsis welcomed the verdict as ‘a victory for democracy, a victory for the rule of law, a victory for independent investigative journalism’, but cautioned that it was ‘only a first victory, because we have not yet learned the whole truth.’ He said the decision ‘leaves the government exposed, the supreme court prosecutor’s office exposed, but it also leaves the Greek parliament exposed, which since 25 November has left unanswered my request for the fabricated testimony of a witness to the investigative committee on wiretapping.’ He announced that he would immediately seek to coordinate action with the leaders of other progressive and left-wing opposition parties, stating: ‘Mr Mitsotakis’ cover-up will not pass.’

New Left parliamentary representative Sia Anagnostopoulou added that the court had not only convicted the defendants but had upgraded the indictment to a felony, which she said ‘leaves a strong institutional and political imprint.’ She noted that those under surveillance had included ministers, the military leadership, and officials who had managed armaments programmes, describing the case as raising ‘a major issue of constitutional order and democracy.’

SYRIZA: ‘Relentless questions remain’

SYRIZA leader Socrates Famellos called the convictions ‘shocking, but also revealing’, saying they confirmed what his party had been denouncing from the outset. He pointed in particular to the overlap between individuals monitored by Predator and those surveilled by the EYP under Mitsotakis’s direct supervision. ‘Did they act alone or did they have the support of the Mitsotakis regime? Is it a coincidence that the same phone numbers were monitored by Predator and by the EYP, which Mr Mitsotakis took under his supervision from day one?’ he asked, answering: ‘No, it’s not a coincidence. There was an organised plan of wiretapping and surveillance with parastatal practices.’ He concluded that Mitsotakis ‘bears personal responsibility’ and called on the government to resign and hold elections.

In a separate statement, SYRIZA as a party demanded that the government answer for the relations between its executives — and Mitsotakis personally — and the convicted individuals. It highlighted testimony heard during the trial suggesting that participants in the relevant parliamentary investigative committee had been ‘informed, guided and protected by New Democracy and its MPs.’ The statement also drew attention to what it described as a ‘joint EYP-Predator surveillance centre’, citing the trial prosecutor’s remark that the correlation between the EYP’s targets and those of Predator was ‘a coincidence that matters.’

Course of Freedom: conviction falls short

Zoe Konstantopoulou, president of Course of Freedom, noted that the court had found four defendants guilty who were connected to the government through their roles at Intellexa and Krikel, but criticised the scope of the proceedings, accusing prosecutors of having yet to bring felony charges against anyone. She stated that the previous investigation had been ‘completely incomplete’ and welcomed the court’s decision to forward the trial minutes to the prosecutor’s office for further investigation.

New Democracy: ‘Proof of judicial independence’

New Democracy parliamentary representative Dimitris Kairidis offered the government’s sole public comment, saying that ‘the decision proves beyond any doubt the independence of the Greek judiciary’, which ‘investigates, denounces and condemns, as it should do in every state governed by the rule of law.’

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