In Greece, the long-running wiretapping scandal entered a significant new phase. The case file has been formally split in two, with the core investigation into espionage charges referred back to the Supreme Court Prosecutor’s Office (Areios Pagos), which had conducted the initial phase of the preliminary inquiry.
Following a landmark ruling by the Athens Single-Member Misdemeanor Court — presided over by Judge Nikos Askianakis with prosecutor Dimitris Pavlidis — four separate new investigations were deemed necessary to leave “no shadow” over a case that strikes at the heart of the rule of law. The court concluded after exhaustive proceedings that justice required a multi-pronged approach.
The scandal also intersects with the Intellexa spyware controversy. Deputy Minister for Citizen Protection Ioannis Lambropoulos submitted a document to parliament asserting that no procurement or use of illegal surveillance software was carried out by the Hellenic Police’s special services, and that all classified expenditures followed strict legal procedures. The statement, dated March 31, 2026, was a response to a parliamentary question by independent MP Giorgos Manousos.
Commentators in Ta Nea drew a sharp distinction between the MPs caught up in various scandals and the true “deep state” — the security services that conduct wiretapping of politicians, ministers, and generals with impunity, operating under the cover of political leadership.
