The Predator case exposes the fiction of institutional stability in Greece

When the party “New Democracy” won the elections in 2019, its leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis promised the country “return to normal functioning of institutions”. That is, transparency, respect for procedures and lack of interference with independent bodies.

Today, after facts disclosed in court about the organized listening system, it is clear: the reality was the opposite.

Scandal with telephone wiretaps and use spyware Predator shows that under the slogans of “normality” a structure of political control has emerged. The trial only focuses on individuals formally associated with Predator, but the examination of evidence reveals a much larger picture: the actions of government agencies and their connection to surveillance operations.

This was especially evident in the conflict between the government and Agency for the Protection of Communication Secrets (Agency for the Protection of Communication Secrets). When the regulator began a real review, government agencies blocked access to information, and the government hastened to change the composition of the independent structure to limit its powers. Parallel Εθνική Υπηρεσία Πληροφοριών (National Intelligence) refused to cooperate, despite direct requests to verify its actions.

It also emerged at the trial that experts appointed to assess the connection between Predator and government agencies were given informal instructions on what their conclusions should be. In other words, the “independent opinion” turned out to be a product of pressure.

Actions raised additional doubts Аρείος Πάγος (Supreme Court)which canceled the investigation from the prosecutors of the first instance precisely at the moment when they demanded that the Agency for the Protection of Communication Secrecy conduct technical checks. The transfer of the case to another prosecutor actually led to the closure of the investigation against government figures.

The same method was used in other scandals, including the tragedy in Tempi and fraud in OPECPEPE. There is only one scheme: minimize risks, control independent bodies, and prevent a real investigation.

However, it was not possible to completely suppress the information. Names, schemes, connections, details about equipment purchases and parallel structures continue to appear in court. Journalists and victims ensured that the case became public and inconvenient for the authorities.

Today, the key question is this: if the state machine is capable of interfering in investigations, rewriting expert reports and controlling independent bodies, can we even talk about the “normal functioning of institutions”?

If Greece truly wants to return to genuine institutional normality, the political practice of hiding responsibility must end. Otherwise, the word “normality” will remain an advertising slogan that has nothing to do with democracy.

The opinion of the author may not coincide with the opinion of the editors

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