Some of the high-profile cases placed on the back burner
Phone tapping: A year-and-a-half after it was discovered (in February 2006) that mobile phones of top politicians and security officials were being tapped before, during and after the 2004 Olympic Games, and after an examination of over 500 witnesses, the case was filed away as it was not possible to trace those responsible. A preliminary investigation resulted in charges being brought against persons unknown for «violating the confidentiality of telephone conversations.» A similar investigation during the premiership of Andreas Papandreou into the tapping of telephones at his home had the same fate. The perpetrators were never found and the only people brought to trial were the publishers of the magazine that had carried transcribed excerpts of the conversations. Tsalikidis case: The mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of Vodafone Hellas executive Costas Tsalikidis in 2005 continues to stir controversy. Although the first instance prosecutor found that his death had been «linked to the phone tapping,» the appeals prosecutor ruled differently. The investigation was inconclusive and despite strong protests from Tsalikidis’s family, who believe he was murdered, the case was closed as a suicide. Pakistanis’ abduction: Nearly two years after revelations of a quite unprecedented case, investigations are still under way into the abduction of Pakistani nationals in the center of Athens and in Ioannina in the summer of 2005. Charges have been brought against persons unknown for «kidnapping and complicity in kidnapping.» Both the investigating magistrate and the public prosecutor decided there is no evidence against specific persons, but the case has been reopened. Attiki Odos: The contract to build and operate the Attiki Odos highway was signed in 1996 between the state and the construction consortium. It was subsequently the subject of a very long investigation. In the end, it was decided that the contract had been «overpriced» and the terms onerous for the Greek state, but no action was taken as the contract had been ratified by Parliament.
