Explosive revelations came to light during the trial over illegal surveillance as former SYRIZA MP Christos Spirtzis testified before the Single-Member Misdemeanor Court, delivering a direct attack on Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
Spirtzis, who has filed a motion to support the prosecution in the case, described what he called “profiling” by Greece’s National Intelligence Service (EYP) under the Prime Minister’s supervision, aimed at controlling the country’s political, economic, and journalistic spheres.
“I received messages infected with the Predator spyware. Three in total — two on one phone and one on a second. The first included a link from Efimerida ton Syntakton, the second from Edolio5. Both said, ‘Christos, with this we will lose,’” Spirtzis testified, adding that he did not initially click the links.
He discovered the surveillance attempt after the Androulakis case surfaced, when he reviewed old messages. “I sent the data to the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto, and they confirmed the links were Predator traps,” he said.
When asked by the presiding judge about the reason for the surveillance, Spirtzis stated:
“The Mitsotakis government wanted to build a dramatic regime, controlling the military, journalists, and the police — everything. This isn’t just a constitutional violation; it’s far worse.”
Spirtzis also revealed that his phone contained three critical emails concerning national negotiations, some classified as confidential.
“I have emails from our embassy in Qatar regarding sensitive national matters. If disclosed, they could disrupt Greece’s relations with international bodies,” he stressed.
He suggested that payments for the spyware were made “in various ways,” mentioning the company Krikel, which, according to him, had government contracts. “The amounts match what the authorities report and Krikel’s contract. Clearly, there was a unified control center,” he said.
Spirtzis explained that spyware like Predator can activate a phone’s camera and microphone at any moment, even during private moments.
“This isn’t just surveillance — it’s a violation of every human right,” he emphasized.
Concluding his testimony, Spirtzis argued that Predator was used in coordination with state mechanisms:
“This was not a private initiative. There was a common core, a centralized system operating under the Prime Minister’s supervision. Mitsotakis and his authorized officials were fully aware of what was happening.”
The testimony of Christos Spirtzis is expected to ignite a political firestorm, bringing renewed attention to the spyware scandal and the relationship between the Greek state and private companies supplying surveillance software.