Greece’s intelligence chief resigns amid phone spying claims

ATHENS: Greece’s intelligence chief has resigned, the government said on Friday amid a scandal over alleged spying ofn an opposition politician.

Panagiotis Kontoleon "has presented his resignation... which was accepted", the office of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a statement. Kontoleon, who was appointed head of Greece’s intelligence service in 2019 after Mitsotakis’s conservative party won power that year, resigned hours after the secretary general of prime minister’s office, Grigoris Dimitriadis, also quit.

The announcements came a week after the leader of the country’s Socialist opposition party filed a complaint with the supreme court over "attempted" spying on his mobile phone with Predator malware.

"A few days ago I was informed by the European Parliament that there was an attempt to bug my mobile phone with Predator surveillance software," Nikos Androulakis told the media as he left the courthouse in Athens on July 26.

Two Greek journalists have also taken legal action this year after they claimed to be victims of surveillance. The government has consistently denied any state involvement, but the rows have sparked an outcry in the country.

Investigative websites Reporters United and Inside Story have accused Dimitriadis -- a nephew of Mitsotakis -- of being linked to the alleged spying scandals involving Androulakis and Greek financial journalist Thanasis Koukakis.