Ten new witnesses who may clarify crucial aspects of Greece’s wiretapping scandal have been summoned on Tuesday by the prosecutor overseeing the ongoing Predator spyware trial at the Athens Misdemeanor Court. The proceedings focus on four business figures accused of developing and deploying the illicit surveillance system: Yiannis Lavranos, described as the true owner of the security firm Krikel, along with Felix Bitzios, Tal Dilian, and Sara Hamou of Intellexa, the consortium behind Predator.
The trial, however, extends far beyond the actions of these individual defendants. Evidence presented so far suggests that Greece’s National Intelligence Service (EYP) — which reports directly to the prime minister — not only used Predator but also received training from Intellexa. These revelations have fueled growing concerns about the extent of government involvement in a covert surveillance operation and about signs that officials may have tried to limit judicial scrutiny.
Among the witnesses called to testify on December 17 are individuals closely connected to Intellexa’s operations. They include an alleged assistant to defendant Sara Hamou; the manager of Intellexa’s Greek office and close associate of its founder, Tal Dilian; one of the original developers of the Predator spyware through the North Macedonia–based company Cytrox; and two Intellexa employees believed to have had privileged access to the company’s systems and equipment, including infrastructure housed in a data center in the Athens suburb of Maroussi.
The following day will feature testimony from witnesses tied to Krikel, the company described in court as being effectively controlled by defendant Lavranos. These include long-time associates involved in the company’s management, its accountant, and an employee who secured export licenses from the Greek Foreign Ministry for technology classified as “systems designed for extracting data from mobile devices,” destined for Sudan and Ukraine. Also expected to testify is a supermarket worker whose prepaid card, issued in his name, was allegedly used to purchase and distribute Predator-infected messages.
Together, these witnesses could provide pivotal information about both the commercial network that built and sold the Predator spyware and the political environment in which it was allegedly deployed — a combination that continues to raise alarms about the state of democratic oversight in Greece.
