Serious revelations that illuminate the background of their case wiretapping through the software Predator were held today in court. A key witness, civil engineer Stamatis Trimbalis, testified that he was essentially acting as a “straw man” for one of the companies involved, signing contracts with the Greek Police without being aware of the consequences.
The witness described how in 2019, following the recommendation of a third party, he met two of the defendants and agreed to take on the role of the company’s legal representative, a position in which he remained until April 2024. “I was appearing as a representative of the company but I understood this afterwards,” he said characteristically, emphasizing that his presence was mainly limited to the moment of signatures.
The deposition in parliament was “staged”.
A special sensation was caused by his reference to what was disclosed during his summons to the Parliament’s Investigative Committee. Mr. Trimbalis confessed that he lied to the deputies, as, as he claimed, he had been given “most questions and answers ready” by one of the defendants and one of his associates.
In fact, he revealed that as soon as he finished his testimony in Parliament, he received a confirmation phone call with the phrase “you said it all right”. Today, he states that he lives under a regime of fear, characterizing those involved as “rogue people”.
The political report and defense response
The witness described his state of mind when revelations about the surveillance began to be published, saying he was “paralysed” with fear. However, according to his testimony, the defendants reassured him by telling him that they had nothing to fear “as far as ND is concerned”.
For its part, the defense questioned the credibility of the witness. The advocates pointed out contradictions in relation to his previous testimony to the deputy prosecutor of the Supreme Court, Achillea Zisi, where Mr. Trimbalis had stated that he was the legal representative and that he did not know the relationship of the defendants with the company.
In the dialogue that followed with the President of the seat, the witness admitted that he knew that he would be seen as a legal representative, but he had not realized that he would be “responsible for everything”.
PASOK then issued an angry announcement.
Source: RES-EMP
PASOK: “The government knew and covered up everything”
At today’s session of the Single-Member Criminal Court of Athens, the former manager of the company Krikel, involved in the export of the illegal Predator surveillance software and the training of Intellexa personnel, testified that the government was fully aware of what was going on with the wiretapping.
According to what he revealed, the New Democracy MPs at the Investigative Committee of September 22, 2022 asked him the same questions for which he had been prepared a few days earlier by the best man of Grigoris Dimitriadis, Yiannis Lavranos, who according to the witness owns the company Krikel. This means that there was a concerted effort to manipulate the work of the Examination, with prior knowledge of the questions.
Even more disturbing are the witness’s reports of the intervention of G. Lavranos when the prosecutors ordered a search of his residences and the premises of his associates: as he revealed, G. Lavranos had informed them a day earlier of the impending checks, having received inside information. These data highlight the existence of a parastatal mechanism with access to the state and the security authorities.
At the same time, the witness revealed that the associates of G. Lavranos assured him that as long as New Democracy is in power, he has nothing to fear.
The disputed testimony proves in the clearest way why the government insists over time on Commissions of Inquiry that function as a mockery of control: as happened in 2022 with the wiretapping and as it is repeated today with the OPEKEPE case, where the government’s imprint distorts the search for the truth.
PASOK-Movement for Change emphasizes once again that the Greek Justice must shed ample light on the wiretapping scandal and especially on the action of Krikel, which for five years was the exclusive supplier of the Greek Police.
The Prime Minister is once again exposed. This testimony reveals the foul landscape in which the country is sinking. It places him and his environment in the frame of the operation to cover up the biggest institutional scandal of the Post-colonial period.
Immediate responses required:
- Who informed and “marked” the work of the Commission of Inquiry?
- Who directed the questions of the MPs of the New Democracy and members of the Commission?
- Who gave the order to prepare the witnesses with prepared questions?
- Who directed the obstruction of the control of the prosecuting authorities?
- The truth must be revealed in its entirety. Responsibilities must be attributed. Institutions must be protected. The Republic cannot tolerate any more darkness.
PS. Who guarantees that similar practices are not followed in the Examination for OPEKEPE? How convincing is it now that Mr. Xylouris decided on his own to invoke the right to remain silent?