The Council of State has approved the use of CCTV cameras by police but only for monitoring traffic in Athens, according to a ruling made public yesterday.

Greece’s highest administrative court ignored the protests of the non-governmental organization Democratic Rally for Popular Freedoms (DRPF) and the objections of 41 people who filed complaints.

The court approved the use of the cameras until May 2007. However, it is set to rule in December on the use of other cameras installed as part of the 1-billion-euro security system for the Athens Olympics.

The police want the right to use these cameras to monitor buildings and people but judges have so far denied this possibility. But the DRPF has alleged that these cameras have already been used illegally to monitor people.

However, the Council of State believes that this is not the case and has seen evidence from two spot checks by the Hellenic Data Protection Authority (APPD) which found that the cameras were not active.