According to Zacharias Kesses, a lawyer representing several of the alleged victims, new legal complaints are set to be filed in the coming weeks. Speaking to a Greek radio station, he said that six of the 87 individuals believed to have been targeted by surveillance—who until now had not pursued legal action—are preparing to file lawsuits against those responsible. While he declined to name them, he described the individuals as particularly significant to the core of the case.
Kesses argued that the alleged conduct goes far beyond ordinary criminal offenses, potentially amounting to felony-level espionage. He pointed to reports that senior state officials were monitored under highly sensitive circumstances, including the head of Greece’s armed forces during a NATO meeting, the foreign minister during an official visit to Saudi Arabia, and the minister responsible for public security during a top-level government session. Such incidents, he said, raise serious national security concerns.
At the same time, the political dimension of the scandal has returned to the forefront following a ruling by a lower criminal court, which found four business figures linked to the spyware company Intellexa—Tal Dilian, Sara Hamou, Giannis Lavranos and Felix Bitzios—guilty in connection with the case. The decision has intensified pressure on the government, although officials have sought to contain its wider political ramifications.
Government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis, speaking at a regular press briefing, described the ruling as a first-instance judicial decision concerning “private individuals” and cautioned against turning Greece’s political life into “one vast courtroom.” His remarks came in response to questions from investigative outlet Documento, which highlighted that alleged surveillance activities extended beyond private citizens to include senior government ministers, military leadership, journalists, and other key institutional figures.
Marinakis acknowledged that the broader controversy carries political significance, noting that it had already prompted legislative initiatives and policy measures that, he said, were recognized by the European Commission as steps toward strengthening the rule of law. However, he maintained that the specific court ruling relates only to the individuals convicted and will likely be subject to further judicial review at higher levels.
Rejecting accusations of political interference, Marinakis emphasized that the case should remain in the hands of the judiciary. He referred to an earlier high-level prosecutorial decision that effectively closed the case with regard to state officials—a move that opposition parties had sharply criticized as a cover-up—arguing that the recent convictions represent a continuation of the legal process.
On the question of whether the case involves espionage, Marinakis confirmed that the issue is part of a separate, ongoing investigation but declined to provide further details. He reiterated that such matters fall exclusively within the remit of the courts and criticized what he described as attempts by commentators to pre-empt judicial outcomes.
Kesses, however, challenged the government’s stance, accusing officials of attempting to distance themselves from key aspects of the case, including possible links between state actors and surveillance technology providers. He dismissed reliance on a 2024 official report as outdated, pointing instead to new evidence that has emerged during dozens of recent court hearings in Athens. He also criticized prosecutorial findings, claiming they have lost institutional credibility, and alleged shortcomings in how the judiciary has handled certain aspects of the investigation, including what he described as a “deliberate blindness” toward victims’ testimonies.
Particular attention has also focused on the role of the surveillance firm Intellexa. Kesses claimed the company may have received payments through confidential state funds, either directly or via offshore entities, and suggested it may not only have supplied spyware but also had access to system logs, potentially enabling real-time monitoring of intercepted data.
Critics argue that the government’s repeated emphasis on judicial independence amounts to an attempt to sidestep political accountability. The scandal—widely described as the most serious of its kind in Greece since the restoration of democracy in 1974—has fueled public frustration, deepened mistrust in institutions, and raised persistent concerns about transparency, oversight, and the state of the rule of law in the country.
