PASOK press spokesman Kostas Tsoukalas said a decision by Supreme Court Prosecutor Evangelos Bakelas to reject requests to reopen Greece's wiretapping case leaves unanswered questions.
Tsoukalas said in a statement that as long as case filings to archive the investigation continue, shadows around the illegal surveillance scandal will remain and grow. He added that the decision reinforces concerns that authorities are failing to use all available legal means to investigate a scandal that damaged public trust and the rule of law.
According to Tsoukalas, the decision comes while convicted private individuals publicly blackmail Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis ahead of an appeal court hearing. He noted that a former chief assistant to Mitsotakis confessed to taking responsibility to protect his boss, questioning why actions by private figures forced a general secretary at Maximos Mansion to resign.
Tsoukalas also accused the New Democracy government of stretching parliamentary regulations and the constitution to block parliamentary committees from questioning key figures or opening a formal investigation. He stated that prosecutors cannot rely on arguments about a lack of new material evidence or existing legal precedents when key individuals remain unexamined and those behind the spying remain unidentified.
Uninvestigated cases of former officials
Addressing specific cases, Tsoukalas pointed to an alleged attempt to wiretap former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, who had access to sensitive national security information. He said the case was improperly treated as a private dispute rather than investigating who targeted Samaras, who held the illegal software, who ordered the spying, and what benefit was sought.
Regarding an application filed by Christos Spirtzis, Tsoukalas said the prosecutor rejected the request because new elements were presented during trial. He said this logic meant that evidence missing during the Supreme Court's initial filing was dismissed as unnecessary to investigate, even though its original absence was confirmed.
Demands for institutional oversight
Tsoukalas affirmed that PASOK Movement for Change respects judicial independence, but stated that respect does not mean remaining silent or giving up democratic control. He warned that public distrust will grow as long as the operators, financiers, and order givers behind the Predator spyware remain unknown.
He concluded by noting that public distrust is worsened by government statements, citing an interview given to news247 by Adonis Georgiadis, whom he called the public voice of Mitsotakis. Tsoukalas said Georgiadis compared the government to a Stalinist regime to argue that worse situations exist.
