Spy scandal in Greece: resignation of the director of intelligence services

Panagiotis Kontoleon, the head of the Greek intelligence services, during a meeting of the Greek Parliament in Athens, Greece, July 29, 2022. AP - Yiannis Panagopoulos

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A case of spying on the phone of one of the opposition figures is creating a stir at the top of the state, to the point of causing the resignation, this Friday, August 5, of the director of the intelligence services.

Since the beginning of the year, at least two Greek journalists have also been victims of comparable surveillance by Athens.

The Predator software – competitor of Pegasus – which would have been used for spying on different cell phones.

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With our correspondent in Athens,

Joël Bronner

The spy scandal which is currently shaking Greece was fueled by the revelations last week of a leading politician: Nikos Androulakis.

MEP, Androulakis is also and above all the leader of the socialist party Pasok-Kinal, the third political force in the country.

At the end of July, he filed a complaint with the Greek Supreme Court for attempted spying on his mobile phone.

A democratic duty

” and not “

a personal question

”, according to him.

A journalist specializing in migration issues and another on financial affairs have also taken legal action in Greece this year for similar espionage cases.

And in February, the secret service's alleged wiretapping of another Greek investigative journalist on migration issues was brought before the Supreme Court.

In all three cases, the government ruled out “ 

any state involvement 

”.

The scandal caused by the political aspect of this affair has therefore just brought down the head of Greek intelligence, Panagiotis Kontoleon, in office since the summer of 2019, the date of the accession to power of the right-wing New Democracy party.

The secretary general of Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the Prime Minister, also chose the same day in midsummer to resign.

However, the government has officially excluded for the moment "

any involvement of the State

".

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  • Greece

  • Intelligence