By Bosphorus News Geopolitics Desk
Eight people targeted in Greece's Predator spyware scandal have taken Intellexa and 13 associated figures to civil court, seeking €7.6 million in damages after February's first criminal convictions in the case.
Greek media reports said seven plaintiffs are seeking €1 million each, while an eighth is claiming €600,000. Reuters quoted the claimants' lawyer as saying each plaintiff was seeking €1 million.
The plaintiffs include journalists Spyros Sideris and Thanasis Koukakis. Greek reports said the group also includes a former senior police officer and intelligence officials.
The case is expected to be heard in April 2027.
The lawsuit moves the scandal into a new phase without resolving its central question: who commissioned the surveillance and whether Predator was operated on behalf of the Greek state.
From Criminal Convictions to Civil Damages
An Athens court convicted Intellexa founder Tal Dilian and three other defendants in February over unlawful access to communications, information systems and personal data through Predator.
The court calculated sentences of 126 years and eight months for each defendant, although the time that can be served is capped at eight years under Greek law. The sentences remain suspended during the appeals process.
The ruling also referred evidence for further investigation into possible felony offences, including espionage.
The civil plaintiffs are now seeking compensation for the personal and professional harm they say resulted from the surveillance.
Their lawyer, Zacharias Kesses, said the claims draw on evidence gathered during the criminal trial and investigations conducted in Greece and abroad. The full content of any additional evidence has not been made public.
Sideris Targets Four Years of Media Silence
Sideris said after filing the lawsuit that almost no one in Greece had seriously engaged with his case for four years, while the surveillance allegations received greater attention abroad.
He framed the case not simply as an individual claim for damages but as a test of press freedom, communications privacy and the rule of law.
His criticism also turned the lawsuit into an indictment of the Greek media's handling of the scandal. Predator targeted journalists working on politically and financially sensitive subjects, with consequences extending beyond the extraction of information from their devices.
The February verdict established criminal responsibility for four individuals linked to Intellexa over unlawful access to communications and personal data. It did not establish that the Greek government purchased, ordered or operated Predator.
The government has denied involvement in illegal surveillance. A Supreme Court prosecutor closed the state-related part of the investigation in 2024, while former intelligence officials have denied that the National Intelligence Service used the malware.
The Question the Convictions Did Not Answer
Bosphorus News reported in March that the convictions returned the scandal to its central unresolved question: who ordered the surveillance.
That question became more difficult to contain after Dilian said Intellexa supplied surveillance technology to governments and that its customers were responsible for operating it lawfully. Dilian has denied wrongdoing and said he would challenge his conviction.
No court has established that the Greek state purchased or operated Predator. The criminal verdict identified responsibility among four people connected to the technology's supply and operation without resolving the command structure behind the targeting.
The civil case may not answer who ordered the surveillance. It will, however, keep that question inside a courtroom and force the defendants to confront the people Predator was used against.
Sources: Reuters, To Vima, Efsyn, Athens court reporting, Amnesty International, Bosphorus News review and reporting