Audit shows journalist, MEP surveillance
In response to requests made by independent MEP Giorgos Kyrtsos and journalist Tasos Telloglou, the Authority for Communication Security and Privacy (ADAE) conducted an investigation at Cosmote on Friday which, sources confirmed, showed decrees were issued for lifting the confidentiality of their phone communications.
The audit was carried out by a team of the Authority for Communication Security and Privacy (ADAE) at the request of Telloglou and Kyrtsos.
There was also allegedly a disturbance when employees of the provider told the auditors they should get the opinion of Supreme Court prosecutor Isidoros Dogiakos on whether the audit procedure was lawful.
The independent authority was asked to launch an audit to determine whether a procedure to lift the confidentiality of their phone communications had been initiated by the National Intelligence Service (EYP). According to reports, the head of Cosmote’s legal department has contacted the prosecutor and asked for his legal opinion on the matter.
The same reports said Dogiakos decided there should be an immediate opinion from the Supreme Court Prosecutor’s Office on when ADAE or interested citizens are allowed to be informed of possible surveillance by EYP for reasons of national security.
Friday’s developments also sparked a political debate, with main opposition SYRIZA calling on Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to say “what was the national security reason for EYP monitoring Kyrtsos and Telloglou.”
In response, government spokesman Giannis Oikonomou said justice has already taken over the investigation of the case. “The so-called ‘political management’ of justice issues and the attempt to interfere in any way in its work is the first step of mismanagement, in which SYRIZA has a rich past,” he said.
In a statement, Cosmote clarified that in no case was the work of the authority obstructed, nor was its competence questioned. “Cosmote expressed concern about the audit procedure, as the relevant law has recently changed,” it noted.
