Greek opposition lawmaker asks for clarification from communication body about being surveilled

By Derya Gulnaz Ozcan

ATHENS (AA) - A senior Greek opposition lawmaker went to the Communications Privacy Authority (ADAE) to get clarification about if he was spied on as he claimed recently, media reports said Wednesday.

Former Education Minister and current deputy with the opposition PASOK-KINAL party, Andreas Loverdos, met the president of ADAE, Christos Rammos, and submitted a request asking to be informed if reports claiming that his mobile phone was under surveillance are true, according to the Avgi newspaper.

He wanted to learn whether he had been subjected to legal surveillance by the National Intelligence Service (EYP) or if he had fallen victim to the Israeli-made Predator spyware, it noted.

-Surveillance scandal

On Aug. 8, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis acknowledged that opposition politician Nikos Androulakis was wiretapped by the country’s intelligence agency but denied knowledge of the operation.

The scandal first emerged Aug. 4 when Panagiotis Kontoleon, then-head of the EYP, told a parliamentary committee that the agency had been spying on financial journalist Thanasis Koukakis.

On Aug. 5, Kontoleon, along with the general secretary of the prime minister’s office, Grigoris Dimitriadis, resigned.

A parliamentary probe was launched after Androulakis complained to top prosecutors about an attempt to hack his cellphone with the Predator spyware.

Previously, the Documento newspaper on Nov. 6 published a list of 33 people allegedly spied on by the EYP on direct orders of Dimitriadis, including Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias, Deputy Defense Minister Nikolaos Chardalias, Development Minister Adonis Georgiadis, Labor Minister Kostis Hatzidakis, Finance Minister Christos Staikouras, former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, former Public Order Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis and former National Security Adviser Alexandros Diakopoulos.

The daily alleged on Dec. 3 that the EYP, which directly operates under Mitsotakis, also wiretapped Chief of General Staff Konstantinos Floros, Chief of Land Forces Charalambos Lalousis and General Director of Defense Investments and Armaments Thodoris Lagios.

Opposition parties have been blaming Mitsotakis for the scandal and have called for his government to hold snap elections, something he rejects.

The European Commission and European Parliament are closely monitoring developments related to the scandal.