This could go down as the week that Greek justice took over from Liz Truss as the world’s briefest joke. It would be funny if it wasn’t so worrying.
BY NICK MALKOUTZIS

On Tuesday, Greece’s Supreme Court announced the findings of a preliminary 9-month investigation into the use of illegal spyware that targeted dozens of ministers, army and police chiefs, journalists, businesspeople and public officials. In her summary, court president Georgia Adelini concluded that there was absolutely no involvement of state agencies or officials in the use of the malicious software, Predator.

The decision has angered, but not shocked, journalists who have been investigating this story and provoked outrage among the opposition parties, which are demanding closer parliamentary scrutiny of the probe carried out by the Supreme Court deputy prosecutor assigned to the case.

Whoever has even cursory knowledge of the case knows that the court’s decision does not stand up to any reasonable scrutiny.

A few days before Adelini made her statement, Inside Story – an independent media outlet that, along with others like Reporters United, has been at the forefront of reporting on this issue – revealed that of the 87 confirmed cases involving people being targeted by Predator, the National Intelligence Service (EYP) had requested permission to spy on at least 27. The article implied that the existence of such a high number of crossover targets destroys the argument that it was a mere coincidence that some people were subjected to both legal and illegal wiretapping. Nevertheless, this was the Supreme Court’s position. Further action, it argues, should only be taken against four individuals linked to the spyware’s vendors. They will face misdemeanour charges related to breach of privacy.

Disregarding the law of probabilities - as well as the fact that the head of EYP and the Prime Minister’s general secretary, who had oversight of the agency, resigned in 2022 when it was revealed that PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis had been targeted by Predator and EYP - the court is adamant that nobody representing the state could have been involved in monitoring these targets. Apart from real spies, Greece's judicial officials also seem unfamiliar with fictional ones: In Ian Fleming's 'Goldfinger', James Bond was told : “Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action.”

The court’s assessment is the latest example of the worrying way this case has been handled by the Greek authorities since complaints about the use of spyware emerged more than two years ago. During that time, there has been consistent suspicion of interference in the judicial process and the work carried out by the country’s independent watchdogs. Also, the Supreme Court’s investigation has left many aspects of this matter untouched and numerous vital questions have not been asked, let alone answered. Inside Story has set out a timeline of these alarming failings.

A day after the Supreme Court’s assessment of the wiretapping scandal, a court in Athens acquitted two brothers that were charged with the murder of crime reporter Giorgos Karaivaz in 2021. Karaivaz’s killing had played a significant role in Greece slipping so far down the World Press Freedom Index that it became the lowest-ranked EU country.

The court’s acquittal came after the then citizens’ protection minister greeted the two men’s arrest by announcing on social media that the case had been cracked - an intervention that, among other things, spoke volumes about the political system's contempt for the judicial process. A report by Kathimerini suggests that the pressure from high-ranking police officers and ministry officials to show results in a matter that had attracted global publicity contributed to the case against the two suspects collapsing as the legal brief built on the evidence gathered was not robust enough.

However, another telling detail to emerge from the trial was that some evidence due to be presented to the court disappeared because the CD it had been stored on was reportedly destroyed during the stapling of the file. Media reports claimed that the CD contained the messages exchanged between Karaivaz and the two officials who resigned in connection to the wiretapping scandal, the head of the intelligence services and the PM’s aide.

Again, it would be hilarous if the implications were not so dangerous.

Ministers, members of the ruling New Democracy party and government supporters have reacted to this week’s developments by professing absolute faith in the Greek justice system and arguing that one of the foundation stones of any democracy is respect for the judiciary’s independence and its decisions. It is an argument that is as convenient for them as the Supreme Court’s judgement in the surveillance scandal, which clears any members of the government and public officials of being involved in illegal activities. It is an argument, though, that completely ignores the ample indications that the judicial process was far from free and fair.

It is also a point of view that is completely detached from public opinion. While Greeks may not be following the wiretapping story in detail – after all, it is difficult for citizens to appreciate how such surreptitious activities affect their daily lives – they have enough experience of such scandals and the way that the Greek judicial process works to be mistrustful. In June, a survey by Kapa Research found that 61 pct of Greeks do not trust the country’s justice system, making it one of the most mistrusted institutions. The way the authorities have handled the spyware issue over the last couple of years has further eroded the little trust that remains.

To be clear, this lack of faith is not a new trend. It did not suddenly appear under the current government, elected in 2019. Previous administrations have contributed in their own ways. However, the wariness has started to reach dangerous levels over the last few years as the public senses that those in power have absolutely no qualms about protecting themselves at all costs, even if this means undermining fundamental institutions and the basic rules of accountability on which our democracy is built.

This is compounded by the fact that even for everyday cases, the delivery of justice is becoming ever slower. The latest European Commission assessment of the rule of law in Greece noted that the length for civil or commercial disputes to be settled has risen to 746 days on average, which is some 60 pct longer than around a decade earlier. No EU country for which there is such data takes longer to resolve these cases, according to the Union's Justice Scoreboard.

At some point, the wiretapping scandal will fade away as an issue. What will be left, though, is the further degradation of the justice system and other key institutions, including agencies that are supposed to be independent. This is not the basis for a prosperous, forward-looking and constructive Greece that those in charge claim they are moulding, it is a petri dish for anger, disunity and destruction - not a laughing matter at all.