The issue of surveillance in Cyprus is also in the frame of the PEGASUS Committee.
Continuing the extremely serious issue of illegal surveillance in Greece and the consequent resignations, MEP Giorgos Georgiou gave an urgent letter sent today to the Bureau of the PEGASUS Committee of Inquiry.
In his capacity as Vice-Chairman of the relevant Committee, George Georgiou requested that a fact-finding mission to Athens be organised immediately to examine the situation.
He also informed the Bureau of the latest developments in Cyprus on the issue of surveillance in the central prisons following the admission of the Minister of Justice.
Stressing that these new revelations and admissions that companies producing and exporting such software operate in Cyprus reveal a potentially huge problem for democracy and the rule of law in Cyprus, requested that the case be placed at the centre of the work of the PEGASUS Committee.
Below is the MEP's letter in full:
"Dear President,
Dear Vice-Presidents,
It is with great regret that we have been informed of new worrying developments regarding the use of spyware in Greece. Developments that have led to the resignation of two high-ranking government officials. The new case of attempted tapping of the mobile phone of the leader of Kinal and active MEP, with surveillance software is simply "unacceptable" if confirmed. This latest revelation comes just months after the latest Rule of Law Report 2022 for Greece, which referred to the case of a journalist who was "allegedly monitored by the national intelligence service" and, moreover, targeted by spyware surveillance software equivalent to Pegasus (Predator).
Furthermore, the multiple allegations of another party, the KKE, regarding the interception of the work of its Central Committee in recent years are still pending.
Dear colleagues.
These are very serious allegations that require immediate investigation. In this context, I would like to propose that we add an official mission to Greece to our work programme to investigate on the spot what exactly happened.
Furthermore, I would also like to draw your attention to the fact that a new scandal has broken out in Cyprus concerning the Ministry of Justice allowing the monitoring of mobile phone activity within prisons instead of enhancing the prison mobile phone jamming software.
According to press reports, at a meeting in February 2022, Justice Minister Stefi Drakou had given verbal instructions to the prisons department to upgrade and fully utilise the capabilities of the existing software, including automatically activating its surveillance system and recording a device's unique code, sim card identity, the date and time of a call and its geographical coordinates.
A leaked letter, dated February 28, 2022, sent from the Department of Justice to the Department of Corrections reiterates the instructions in writing, reinforcing the idea that the department wants to upgrade the software to include surveillance capabilities instead of jamming.
It is my strong belief that these new revelations combined with persistent evidence and even admissions that there are companies operating in Cyprus that produce and export this kind of software make up a potentially huge problem for democracy and the rule of law in Cyprus that require us to put this case at the centre of our Committee's work.
We look forward to discussing these issues at the next available opportunity with a view to addressing these threats to European democratic values and our individual rights.
Remaining at your disposal for any further information you may require.
Thank you in advance for your cooperation."
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