Complaint filed for Predator espionage by EYP official – new prosecutions on horizon
Senior official of EYP, Giannis Papadopoulos, has filed a complaint for espionage via Predator, opening a new front in the case.
EYP official files complaint for espionage via Predator – background and legal implications
According to In.gr, a senior official of the National Intelligence Service, Giannis Papadopoulos, has filed a complaint with the competent Misdemeanour Prosecutor of Athens against the four private individuals convicted at first instance for the wiretaps via Predator, as well as against any responsible party, for offences of espionage and threats to national security.
The four individuals convicted at first instance are Tal Dilian, Felix Bidzios, Ioannis Lavranos and Sara Hamou. The telephone that was compromised was registered in the name of Papadopoulos's wife, although he used it exclusively in the context of his work duties.
Official notification from APDPCH
The Personal Data Protection Authority formally notified the official's wife that the telephone was compromised via installation of Predator spyware, following the dispatch of an SMS message to that specific number. This formal notification forms the basis of the complaint.
The complaint emphasises that, given Papadopoulos's position and duties, "any breach of the confidentiality of these communications, which is particularly significant in the case where it is committed by private individuals, constitutes leakage of such communications to unknown third parties and establishes the offence of espionage against the country". According to the text of the complaint, these are communications concerning "matters of threat to or protection of national security" and fall under "the highest possible confidentiality protection for matters of national interest".
Who is Giannis Papadopoulos
At the time he was targeted, Papadopoulos was head of a division at EYP. He now holds the position of deputy head of a division, having held other positions of responsibility in the service. His responsibilities concern counter-intelligence, and his work entails access to sensitive information: networks of agents of foreign powers, individuals suspected of connections with international terrorism, EYP informant networks within and outside Greece, as well as data concerning organised crime and "international mafias" operating in the country.
Whoever attempted to compromise this telephone, the complaint emphasises, sought to gain access to a significant portion of EYP's informant networks, as well as knowledge of the level of the service's information regarding the activities of foreign secret services. Legal circles, according to In.gr, emphasise that access to this information by foreign actors objectively undermines the ability of Greek services to safeguard national interests.
Why this complaint cannot be legally ignored
The legal significance of the new complaint lies in the fact that it is not a request for "reopening" or widening of the existing file. The Office of the Prosecutor of the Court of Cassation has repeatedly refused to reconsider the case, arguing that it has been decided at first instance and will soon be tried on appeal. This argument, according to legal circles cited by In.gr, cannot be applied to the new complaint.
The reason: the complaint does not concern the charges already being tried, but a new offence – that of espionage. This offence is evidenced by the nature of the communications of the compromised telephone and by the fact that the involvement of the specific individuals in the wiretaps has already been established in court. At the same time, the complaint seeks to investigate the possible involvement of other persons.
Furthermore, the complaint does not ask the four private individuals to testify as witnesses – something that would create legal issues, since they are already defendants. Instead, it turns against them as accused parties, asking the judicial authorities to examine the witnesses they deem appropriate to substantiate the charge.
Evidence that has not been investigated
Legal circles also point out that the evidence presented by the complaint constitutes precisely the "new evidence" that the Office of the Prosecutor of the Court of Cassation claimed "for now" does not exist, citing this lack as a reason for not reopening the case.
This evidence has not been investigated or taken into account to date. According to the report, it reflects the broader problem that all those who received infected messages have never been called to testify – individuals who could have provided information about the nature of the communications they had and could have contributed to the full disclosure of the scope of the case.
The government continues to consider that the wiretapping case has essentially been closed. The filing of the new complaint by a key figure in the country's national security apparatus, however, reopens the issue at both the level of judicial investigation and of political debate.
Source: In.gr