By Renee Maltezou and Yannis Souliotis
ATHENS, Feb 26 (Reuters) - A Greek court on Thursday concluded that the founder of surveillance firm Intellexa and three other people were guilty of breaching personal data in 2020-2021 and sentenced them to prison terms, in the latest twist of wiretapping scandal that has rocked Greece since 2022.
The scandal followed allegations by a financial journalist and the leader of the main opposition party, the Socialist PASOK, that they had been under state surveillance via phone malware.
In 2024, Greece’s Supreme Court prosecutor shelved a case against the state intelligence service, EYP, and referred the four defendants to be tried on misdemeanour charges.
The Misdemeanour Court in Athens on Thursday handed prison sentences of 126 years and eight months to each of the four defendants, although the actual time to be served behind bars is capped at eight years. The sentence is pending an appeal.
The court also referred the case back to prosecutors for further investigation of other crimes and more serious offences potentially committed, including espionage.
Intellexa SA founder Tal Dilian, and the other three defendants linked to the Greece-based company or related firms, did not enter a formal plea, but have all denied charges against them. They were represented by their lawyers in the courtroom.
Journalist Thanasis Koukakis' phone was infected by Predator spyware, developed by Cytrox, a surveillance company within the Intellexa consortium, according to court documents.
Traces of Predator were later found in dozens of phones, including those of politicians, ministers, intelligence service employees and businessmen.
The case has rattled the centre-right government, leading to the sacking of the EYP chief and prime minister's chief of staff. The administration, which denied any wrongdoing or knowingly wiretapping anyone, survived a 2023 vote of no confidence over the issue.
Koukakis, one of the plaintiffs, said he felt content with the ruling. Another complainant told Reuters that the outcome was vindicating.
"We are not yet celebrating, the self-evident occurred," said lawyer Zacharias Kesses who represented five plaintiffs. "The way now opens for justice to probe the felonies."
(Reporting by Renee Maltezou and Yannis Souliotis, editing by Andrei Khalip)
