A Greek Scandal Reverberates as Eavesdropping Expands in Europe
Revelations that the cellphone of a top opposition politician was tapped have shaken the government and stoked concerns over just how widespread such surveillance is.
Jason Horowitz and
ATHENS — In a tense and highly confidential meeting in the senate chamber of the Greek Parliament, the prime minister’s smooth, handpicked spy chief politely evaded the questions of opposition lawmakers. They were demanding to know if he had surveilled a rival politician and a financial journalist investigating powerful business interests close to the prime minister.
But the inquiries mostly went nowhere. The committee’s chair, a political ally of the prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, discouraged follow-up questions, kept time to a minimum and ensured that the July 29 meeting, the content of which is still protected, was a dud.
But less than a week later, the charges of government spying detonated into a sprawling scandal that is now shaking the very top of the Greek government, raising fears of widespread surveillance throughout Europe, and potentially putting another crack in Europe’s united front against Russia for its war in Ukraine.
Greece today is awash in talk of blackmail, Watergate and a secret police state that uses a pervasive, legal surveillance program with more than 15,000 orders last year alone to start, extend or cut off wiretaps in this country of 10.5 million people. Predator, a malicious spyware used to penetrate cellphones, has become part of the Greek vocabulary.
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