Panagiotis Kontoleon, the head of the intelligence service of the EYP, has submitted his resignation “after wrong actions found during the legal wiretapping procedures”, according to a statement from the office of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Kontoleon was not immediately available for comment. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Earlier this week, two lawmakers who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity said Kontoleon had admitted during a July 29 parliamentary committee hearing that his agency had spied on Thanasis Koukakis, a financial journalist who works for CNN Greece. . read more This closed-door hearing was convened after the leader of the socialist opposition PASOK party, Nikos Androulakis, filed a complaint with top prosecutors about an attempt to hack his mobile phone with tracking software in September 2021. Read more Androulakis, who was elected PASOK leader in December 2021, said on Friday night that he learned that EYP was also listening in on his conversations in late 2021. He did not reveal the source of the information. Androulakis called on the Greek parliament to set up a commission of inquiry to look into the case and accused the government of downplaying the issue. “Today we learned that the EYP, which reports directly to the prime minister, proceeded to intercept during the internal election process for the leadership of PASOK,” he said. The government later said it was informed of the surveillance of Androulakis, which it said was legal as it had been authorized by a prosecutor, and had tried to inform him “but Androulakis chose not to respond,” said government spokesman Giannis Oikonomou. a statement. Economou added that the ruling Conservative Party, which controls 157 MPs in 300 seats, would support a request for an investigative committee to look into the matter. To pass, such a proposal must be signed by 120 lawmakers. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Reporting by George Georgiopoulos and Karolina Tagari, Additional reporting by Rene Maltezou and Angeliki Koutantou. Edited by Ros Russell and Cynthia Osterman Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
