Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Greek spyware inquiry ends in stalemate

Greek spyware inquiry ends in stalemate

Government and opposition disagree on disagreeing on findings of parliamentary inquiry.
Greece's national parliament has finished its investigation into the use of spyware by security services. Just don't ask lawmakers what the shared conclusions are.

Political parties late on Monday submitted their findings of the special parliamentary inquiry that was set up to investigate the spying scandal that has engulfed the government ever since allegations emerged that the government had been spying on political opposition.

The controversy started in August when the government acknowledged it had wiretapped opposition leader’s Nikos Androulakis' phone — a move it called legal but wrong. Two senior government officials, the government’s chief of staff and the head of the country’s National Intelligence Service (EYP), lost their jobs. It then quickly turned into an espionage thriller that involved controversial spyware Predator being planted on the phones of an ever-expanding network of politicians and journalists. But the government has claimed no connection to — or even knowledge of — these broader cases.

After weeks of hearings, the ruling party New Democracy this week said it considered the issue closed, doubling down on its defense that the surveillance was deemed legal by the investigation's findings.

New Democracy also said the hearings proved that there is no link between Predator spyware found on opposition figures' and journalists' phones on the one hand, and the country’s spy service on the other. "The opposition's allegations of a scandal surrounding the legal surveillance of Androulakis’ phone and the operation of the National Intelligence Service (EYP) collapsed like a house of cards," reads their conclusion.

But opposition parties, including Androulakis' Pasok party and the left-wing Syriza party, vehemently disagreed, accusing the government of a major cover-up in trying to brush aside the evidence laid out in the investigation.

Syriza blamed the New Democracy party, which holds the majority in the inquiry, for blocking key witnesses from appearing at the hearings, including journalists whose phones had been wiretapped or who had investigated the issue, as well as state officials from the police and Greek secret service. The government’s main concern was “not the truth and the unravelling of the case but the cover-up and the disappearance of evidence that could lead to the attribution of not only political but also possible criminal responsibility.”

“Further investigation of the case both by the Greek parliament with all available parliamentary means, including the preliminary investigation committee, and by the criminal justice system is needed,” Syriza said.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Unelected PM of the UK holds an emergency meeting because a candidate got voted in… which he says is a threat to democracy…
Farmers break through police barriers in Brussels.
Ukraine Arrests Father-Son Duo In Lockbit Cybercrime Bust
US Offers $15 Million For Info On Leaders Of Cybercrime Group Lockbit
Apple warns against drying iPhones with rice
Alexei Navalny: UK sanctions Russian prison chiefs after activist's death
German economy is in 'troubled waters' - ministry
In a recent High Court hearing, the U.S. argued that Julian Assange endangered lives by releasing classified information.
Tucker Carlson says Boris Johnson wants "a million dollars, in Bitcoin or cash, from Tucker Carlson to talk about Ukraine.
Russia is rebuilding capacity to destabilize European countries, new UK report warns
EU Commission wants anti-drone defenses at Brussels HQ
Von der Leyen’s 2nd-term pitch: More military might, less climate talk
EU Investigates TikTok for Child Safety Concerns
EU Launches Probe Into TikTok Over Child Protection Under Digital Content Law
EU and UK Announce Joint Effort on Migration
Ministers Confirm Proposal to Prohibit Mobile Phone Usage in English Schools
Avdiivka - Symbol Of Ukrainian Resistance Now In Control Of Russian Troops
"Historic Step": Zelensky Signs Security Pact With Germany
"Historic Step": Zelensky Signs Security Pact With Germany
Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny has died at the Arctic prison colony
Tucker Carlson grocery shopping in Russia. This is so interesting.
France and Germany Struggle to Align on European Defense Strategy
‘A lot higher than we expected’: Russian arms production worries Europe’s war planners
Greece Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage and Adoption Rights
Russia "Very Close" To Creating Cancer Vaccines, Says Vladimir Putin
Hungarian Foreign Minister: Europeans will lose Europe, the Union's policy must change drastically
Microsoft says it caught hackers from China, Russia and Iran using its AI tools
US Rejects Putin's Ceasefire Offer in Ukraine
The Dangers of Wildfire Smoke and Self-Protection Strategies
A Londoner has been arrested for expressing his Christian beliefs.
Chinese Women Favor AI Boyfriends Over Humans
Greece must address role in migrant vessel disaster that killed 600: Amnesty
Google pledges 25 million euros to boost AI skills in Europe
Hungarian President Katalin Novák Steps Down Amid Pardon Controversy
Activist crashes Hillary Clinton's speech, calls her a 'war criminal.'
In El Salvador, the 'Trump of Latin America' stuns the world with a speech slamming woke policing after winning a landslide election
Trudeau reacts to Putin's mention of Canadian Parliament applauding a former Ukrainian Nazi in his interview with Tucker Carlson.
The Spanish police blocked the farmers protest. So the farmers went out and moved the police car out of the way.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy fires top Ukraine army commander
Tucker Carlson's interview with Vladimir Putin raises EU concerns
Finnish Airline, Finnair, is voluntarily weighing passengers to better estimate flight cargo weight
Russia's Economy Expands by 3.6% Due to Increased Military Spending
Ukraine MPs Vote To Permit Use Of Dead Soldiers' Sperm
German Princess Becomes First Aristocrat To Pose Naked On Playboy Cover
UK’s King Charles III diagnosed with cancer
EU's Ursula von der Leyen Confronts Farmer Protests Amid Land Policy Debates
Distinguishing Between Harmful AI Media and Positive AI-Generated Content: A Crucial Challenge for the EU
Tucker Carlson explains why he interviewed Putin
Dutch farmers are still protesting in the Netherlands against the government, following the World Economic Forum's call for 'owning nothing.'
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stands up for European farmers and says, 'Brussels is suffocating European farmers.
×