Former Greek MEP gets suspended jail term for leaking voter data

A court in Athens has sentenced former conservative Member of the European Parliament Anna-Michelle Asimakopoulou to 20 months in prison, suspended for three years. The conviction relates to her use of personal data belonging to around 25,000 Greek expatriate voters during her campaign for the 2024 European elections.

Asimakopoulou, who served as an MEP for Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis's New Democracy party between 2019 and 2024, was found guilty of violating official administrative confidentiality and personal data protection laws. The court acknowledged her lack of prior offenses when deciding on the suspended sentence. A former secretary from Greece's Interior Ministry also received an 18-month suspended sentence for similar offenses.

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The court imposed a prison sentence of 20 months, however, it decided on a suspension for three years, recognizing that the convicted person has no prior record.

The scandal surfaced in March 2024 after dozens of complaints were filed by Greek citizens living abroad. They reported receiving political emails from the MEP ahead of the European elections. Investigations revealed that the ministry secretary had leaked a file containing voter data, including email addresses, to Asimakopoulou in June 2023. This leak was reportedly facilitated through two senior New Democracy officials, who received lesser sentences of eight and twelve months for acting as "mere intermediaries."

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The secretary of the Ministry leaked a file 'for exclusive internal use' of the Ministry of the Interior with the data of the voters - including their email addresses - to Asimakopoulou in June 2023, using two senior ND leaders as intermediaries.