DVD details to be revealed
Police are expected to present details today about a DVD allegedly used to blackmail former Culture Minister General Secretary Christos Zachopoulos, who remains in critical condition in the hospital following his suicide attempt 10 days ago. The DVD was passed from Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis’s office to prosecutors investigating the case as the government insists the incident is only linked to Zachopoulos’s personal relationships and does not have any political or financial implications. Despite the conservatives’ insistence, authorities are looking into more than 200 declassifications of archaeological sites that took place during Zachopoulos’s tenure at the ministry. The change in classification allows construction on the previously protected sites. However, sources said yesterday that having digitally analyzed the poor-quality footage on the DVD, police are set to tell judicial authorities today that it only contains a video of Zachopoulos and his former secretary at the ministry, Evi Tsekou, engaged in an intimate moment. The government is hoping that the investigation will not lead any further than confirming an alleged affair between the married Zachopoulos and his 35-year-old assistant. Tsekou has denied having an affair with the public official and rejected allegations that she recorded a sexual encounter so that she could use the evidence to blackmail him into giving her a permanent position at the Culture Ministry, where she was a contract worker. If confirmed, the police’s analysis of the footage could undermine Tsekou’s defense. Tsekou claims that she had contacted some journalists to highlight an alleged improper hiring procedure at the ministry and did not offer to pass on the DVD in question. According to a report yesterday, Tsekou had also e-mailed another high-ranking official at the Culture Ministry about attaining permanent employment at the ministry.
