SYRIZA on wiretapping: Demands government explanation over letters concerning Predator

Greek lawmakers from SYRIZA-PS are demanding answers from the government concerning official letters reportedly issued for the Predator spyware. Initiated by Rena Dourou, the party's Head of Foreign Affairs, the parliamentary inquiry targets the Foreign Minister for clear responses regarding documents allegedly certifying the "successful operation" of Intellexa's spyware.

According to the parliamentary inquiry, recent publications indicate that the government officially approved documents to facilitate the export of the spyware to third countries with authoritarian regimes, such as Sudan and Madagascar. These documents are reportedly in Intellexa's possession. The SYRIZA-PS lawmakers cite evidence primarily from a previously unknown Administrative Inquiry by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2023, which was retrieved from case files by lawyer Z. Kessēs, representing victims of wiretapping.

The inquiry focuses on the circumstances under which Directorate B6 of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued Reference Certificate, Certificate of Good Performance, and crucially, the Government User Certificate between November 15, 2021, and late March 2022. Questions are also raised about why Mr. G. Smyrlis, then Director General for International Economic Relations and Extroversion and currently Director General of New Democracy, was allegedly not called as a witness or investigated during the administrative inquiry.

The questioners emphasize the need to clarify why provisions of EU Regulation 2021/821 were allegedly disregarded. This regulation mandates consideration of human rights, end-use, diversion risks, internal repression, and potential serious violations of international humanitarian law when granting export licenses. The lawmakers are pressing for transparency regarding the government's role in the certification and export of surveillance technology.