Phone spyware scandal in Greece moves to court as critics claim cover-up

Four people go on trial accused of misdemeanours but opponents ask why no government officials have been charged.

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Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has called it a scandal, but no government officials have been charged in court and critics accuse the government of trying to cover up the truth.

Instead, a low-ranking judge will on Wednesday hear the case against two Israelis and two Greeks, allegedly involved with marketing spy software known as Predator.

In the summer of 2022, the current head of socialist party Pasok, Nikos Androulakis - then an MEP - was informed by the EU Parliament's IT experts that he had received a malicious text message from an unknown sender, containing spy software.

This Predator spyware, which is marketed by the Athens-based Israeli company Intellexa, can get access to a device's messages, camera, and microphone – turning a person's phone against them.