The former chief of the National Intelligence Service (EYP), Panagiotis Kontoleon and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ ex-chief of staff, Grigoris Dimitriadis, refused to answer questions of MPs on EYP’s wiretapping of PASOK-KINAL leader Nikos Androulakis at a hearing held yesterday by the competent parliamentary Committee on Institutions and Transparency, based on the argument that issues pertaining to national security and EYP are confidential.

EYP has been under the direct jurisdiction of the PM’s office since Mitsotakis came to power and Dimitriadis, who is also the PM’s nephew, had direct supervision of the intelligence service.

The government has said that Androulakis was surveilled for unspecified reasons of “national security”.

The two former officials were both forced by the PM to resign when the Androulakis affair was revealed.

Other current and former officials who testified at the hearing were the incoming EYP chief, Ambassador Themistoliks Demiris, the director of the Hellenic Authority for the Protection of Communication Security and Privacy (ADAE), Christos Rammos, prosecutor Vasiliki Vlachou (who is attached to EYP and signed the order permitting the wiretapping of Androulakis), and former EYP director (under the previous SYRIZA government) Yannis Roubatis.

Rammos and New Democracy MP Kostas Tzavaras said that it is impermissible for the former EYP and government officials to invoke confidentiality when questioned by the competent parliamentary committee in closed session.

‘PM never briefed’

According to leaks from MPs regarding the closed session committee hearing, Kontoleon claimed that the prime minister and his office were never briefed in any case whatsoever on the lifting of the constitutionally guaranteed privacy of communications.

He asserted that the PM and his office were only briefed on the data from a wiretapping after the conclusion of surveillance, but only when EYP deemed that necessary, essentially maintaining that there is effectively no political oversight of EYP.

Two days after the revelation of Androulakis’ surveillance, however, press reports indicated that the PM was enraged that he was not informed because the case involved a political div.

In a nationally televised statement on 8 August, Mitsotakis said that the surveillance of the politician was legal [because it was approved by the competent prosecutor attached to EYP] but that it was a “political mistake”.

‘Neither yes or no’ on surveillance of other politicians

Both Kontoleon and Dimitriadis invoked the confidentiality regarding issues of national security and EYP.

Asked if other politicians aside from Androulakis were or are under surveillance, and whether the Androulakis file has been shredded, as some press reports have claimed, Dimitriadis again said that he could not answer because he is bound by the confidentiality regarding matters of national security and EYP.

However, only a special parliamentary criminal preliminary investigation committee has prosecutorial powers that might require a witness to testify.

EYP chief under SYRIZA rejects confidentiality argument

Yannis Roubatis, a former journalist who served as EYP’s director throughout the tenure of Alexis Tsipras’ SYRIZA government (2015-2019) and also testified before the committee, said that it is inconceivable to speak of “legal” wiretappings of elected MPs and European Parliament deputies, as that represents a violation of the constitution.

Moreover, regarding the PM’s claim that he was being surveilled when he was still main opposition leader (he did not specify by whom), Roubatis categorically denied the claim that Mitsotakis or his family were wiretapped by EYP and maintained that on his watch no politician was placed under surveillance.

Regarding the claim of KKE Greek Communist Party leader Dimitris Koutsoubas that the party’s telephone switchboard had been placed under surveillance since 2016 (when SYRIZA was in power), Roubatis said that EYP was not involved and that he had informed the party of that.