Greek wiretapping victims sue spyware firm Intellexa for damages

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ATHENS, July 7 (Reuters) - Eight victims of a Greek wiretapping scandal have sued the Athens-based surveillance firm Intellexa SA and individuals believed to be linked to it, seeking €1 ​million ($1.1 million) each for moral harm, their lawyer said on Tuesday.

The ‌affair, dubbed "Predatorgate", emerged in 2022 after a financial journalist and a centre-left political party leader said that they had been subject to state surveillance with the phone malware Predator, ​Intellexa's flagship spyware product.

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The case led to the sacking of the ​head of the EYP state intelligence service and the prime ⁠minister's chief of staff. Traces of Predator were later found in dozens ​of phones.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' centre-right government has denied any political involvement in ​the wiretapping, calling the monitoring of a political opponent's phone a mistake and saying it was not aware of the incident before it happened. It survived a vote of no confidence ​on the matter in 2023.

In February, a court found Intellexa's Israeli founder ​Tal Dilian and three others guilty of breaching personal data confidentiality in 2020–2021. Each received prison ‌sentences ⁠totaling 126 years and eight months, with actual time capped at eight years, pending appeal.

Dilian said in March that the conviction was unfounded and that he would not be a scapegoat. He said the surveillance technology had been sold ​only to governments, ​and that they ⁠were responsibile for how it was used. An appeal hearing is set for December.

Now eight people whose phones were found ​to be infected with Predator have filed a suit against ​Intellexa ⁠and 13 individuals including Dilian, their lawyer Zacharias Kesses said on Tuesday, adding that more lawsuits would follow.

Each plaintiff is seeking €1 million in moral damages for "the unlawful ⁠violation ​of their private life, the confidentiality of their ​communications, and their personal data," Kesses said. The case is due to be heard in April.

($1 = ​0.8752 euros)

Reporting by Yannis Souliotis; Writing by Renee Maltezou; Editing by Kevin Liffey

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