Greek Prime Minister denies knowing about other’s phone tapping | Greece

Greek prime minister eavesdropping scandal He implicated his government, claiming he was unaware that the country’s Socialist leader was being monitored by an intelligence agency that reported directly to him.

In an address to the nation on Monday, Kyriakos Mitsotakis said tapping the phone of Pasok party leader Nikos Androulakis was a mistake that should never have happened.

“What was done may have followed the letter of the law, but it was wrong,” Misotakis said. “I didn’t know and obviously I would never allow it.”

The wiretapping took place last year during a three-month period when the newly revived center-left Pasok, Greece’s third largest political force, was preparing to elect a new leader. His Androulakis, a 43-year-old MEP, was backed to win the race.

When the revelations came to light and the Mediterranean State’s spy chief and Mitsotakis’ most trusted aide resigned over the matter, an official with the center-right government said the wiretapping was ordered by Ukrainian and Armenian intelligence services. The sensitive role of social democrats in the European Parliament’s foreign affairs committee dealing with China was cited.

But the prime minister faced the most difficult period of his tenure since taking power in July 2019, with oversight being approved by senior prosecutors as required by law, but “politically It is unacceptable,” he stressed.

“Our democracy does not allow shadows to exist, which is why I want to speak openly about recent developments.”

“Even though everything was done legally, the National Intelligence Agency (EYP) underestimated the political aspects of this particular action. It was…politically unacceptable.”

Greek politics has been greatly shaken by a scandal in which the left-wing opposition wasted no time comparing it to the Watergate scandal.

Androulakis, who called for a parliamentary inquiry into the matter, said that the Greek government resorted to “dark practices” last adopted by a colonel who seized power in 1967 and plunged the country into a seven-year military government. expressed disappointment.

“I will continue to fight for justice, the Greek parliament and the European institutions to reveal all the truth,” Pasok’s leader tweeted, saying the wiretapping had exposed Greece humiliatingly and internationally.

European Parliament sources suggesting the scandal is not over say the case will almost certainly be taken up when the 705-seat parliament returns from its summer recess.

Androulakis, who has been a member of the European Parliament since 2014, has sufficient evidence to prove that the Strasbourg-based organization’s cybersecurity department attempted to monitor his mobile phone using the Predator malware. claims to be

Eavesdropping on Euro MP by an EU Member State is considered particularly egregious. Greek government spokesman Ioannis Oikonomou said on Monday that Athens never used “notorious malware” and that Andororakis’ “legitimate” surveillance was done through “conventional means.”

Mitsutakis, who faces re-election next year, took control of the EYP within weeks of taking office. Amid growing calls for his resignation, many said his work on damage control was too slow.

“Not only is he a liar, he is arrogant and irresponsible,” the statement said, adding that he begged the belief that government officials previously denied wiretapping had taken place.

Opposition politicians pointed to the vehement denials of the Ukrainian and Armenian ambassadors to Athens as further evidence of the regime’s failure to come clean. Diplomats reacted furiously to the suggestion that their country demanded that Kyiv’s special envoy Sergiy Shtenko be wiretapped, explaining that the claim was “out of touch with reality.”

Armenian Ambassador Tigran Mukruchan called the allegations “shameless lies.” “Armenia has never asked any government to wiretap anyone’s phone,” he said.

Analysts expressed surprise at the lack of any attempt to explain why Androulakis was being monitored, even though Androulakis isn’t the only one.

Two Greek journalists were also spied on by the facing government before Pasok’s leader made Predator’s allegations public (filed a complaint with the Supreme Court Prosecutor in Athens on July 26). Following the digital evidence, legal action was taken. International accusations of trying to restrict press freedom.

“It was a speech that failed to answer a lot of questions,” said Lamprini Lori, assistant professor of political analysis at the University of Athens. “Yes, Mitsotakis admitted it was a mistake, but public opinion and the political elite wanted to know why Andrew Lakis was being monitored in the first place, but it was never resolved.”

The scandal was definitely a blow to the Greek prime minister, who was proud of being favored by centrists in the last election. “The crisis will cost the government that part of the electorate,” Lori said. “Centrist voters will have a harder time trusting the new democracy after this.”