Greece: convictions in wiretapping scandal
In the wiretapping scandal that shook Greece in 2022, a court has sentenced four businessmen associated with spyware manufacturer Intellexa to prison on Thursday. The Predator spyware was used for illegal wiretapping operations against politicians, journalists, military personnel and entrepreneurs. The national press is now pushing for further clarification of the case.
Punish the masterminds, too
Now those who were pulling the strings behind the scenes must also be brought to book, In demands:
“This court has done the work that the government majority of the relevant investigative committee failed to do, which concluded that nothing serious had happened. ... Now the debate about the wiretapping scandal is finally kicking off. After all, those who have received heavy sentences didn't set up this extremely expensive surveillance mechanism for 'private use'. ... Someone asked them to do it. Someone gave them the order to do it. Someone paid them to do it. And that someone was the Greek government, or more precisely the Prime Minister's office, because the affairs of the National Intelligence Service (EYP) are directly under the head of government's control.”
Mafia bosses seldom convicted
News website Tvxs draws a comparison with major criminal organisations:
“The verdict on the wiretapping scandals is historic. ... But of course it doesn't affect those who were never in the dock. The leader who ordered the surveillance to obtain information, the executor who took on the job, exceeding his authority, and all the secret agents who collaborated in the double, often alternating surveillance of the victims. This is how it always works with the Mafia. The godfathers stay out of the whole affair and the executors pay the price.”