Disagreement on phone tapping case
Each part will present its own conclusions, with the majority exhonerating the government
As expected, each party in Parliament will submit its own findings on the tapping of socialist leader Nikos Androulakis’ cellphone after the Parliamentary Committee finished its investigation.
A large part of the investigation was cloaked in secrecy and some of the crucial ones have not been revealed. But they might be in the ensuing Parliamentary debate, which will be an open session.
The majority of thew ruling New Democracy party has concluded that the tapping of Androulakis’ cellphone was legal, based on a request by the Director of the National Intelligence Agency (EYP) and approved by a prosecutor.
The attempt to infect Androulakis’ phone with the Predator spyware was not made by EYP or any state entity, the majority report says. It further asserts that Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was unaware of the tapping and was not informed, according to the EYP Director.
The majority also notes that no one is exempt from the lifting of privacy in their communications in exceptional circumstances and that supposing that politicians cannot be involved, knowingly or not, in actions compromising national security, runs counter to the Constitution.
It was proven, the majority says, that the state has not acquired illegal spyware and it further asserts that similar operations had happened during the previous leftist government.
The majority makes some proposals for greater transparency, as well as the setup of a Cybersecurity Agency.
As was also expected, opposition parties accuse the government of illegally tapping the socialist leader’s phone and of doing its best to try to conceal the affair and the Prime Minister’s involvement. What is lacking, however, is any specific fact. SYRIZA says, in its own report, that there are indications of EYP using the Predator software.
The Communist Party says the committee failed to investigate its accusations of wiretapping against them and accuses both New Democracy and SYRIZA of being involved.
On Thursday, the committee is expected to rubber-stamp the majority report, with the opposition dissenting.
It is hoped that the Parliamentary debate, which will be televised, will bring some clarity into what have been conflicting statements made on a partisan basis.
