Independent Communication Security and Privacy Authority (ADAE) clash with government over investigations into the wiretapping scandal

During ADAE’s investigation of the wiretapping scandal, top government officials (Prime Minister, Speaker of the Parliament, Government Spokesman) launched verbal attacks against ADAE President Mr. Christos Rammos and other  members of the independent authority, raising questions about the governmental obstruction of ADAE’s work and the exercise of its responsibilities, in the context of the investigation of the wiretapping scandal, as provided for by Law No. 3115/2003.

However, in the exercise of these powers in the form of ADAE’s investigation into the wiretapping scandal, Mr. Christos Rammos, President of the independent authority and Vice President of the Council of State (CoE), has been subjected to a number of verbal attacks by government officials, which have been likened to an attempt to obstruct the authority’s investigation.

More specifically, on January 24, 2023, government spokesman Yannis Economou attacked Mr Rammou in a statement, alleging that the ADAE head’s actions constitute ‘a serious institutional and political faux pas” and accusing him of participating in a “plan to serve the party interests” of the opposition.

Mr. Economou continued his allegations on 25 January 2023, suggesting that Mr. Rammos’ behaviour and the actions of ADAE had been suspect for some time but the government had not wanted to openly criticise the authority. At this point however, the government were prepared to suggest that information leaks appeared to have been coming from the authority, and that Mr. Rammos appeared to have a “privileged relationship with the opposition,” disrespecting the independent authority he heads.

These statements, however, have not been substantiated, and the government has been accused of attempting to discredit and undermine the actions of the ADAE and its chairman by attributing them to political motives rather than to the constitutionally and legislatively mandated exercise of ADAE’s responsibility to investigate the wiretapping scandal.

First of all, it should be noted that the above statements were made at a time when the ADAE, performed checks on telecommunications providers and documented that EYP, under the authority of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, had lifted the confidentiality of communications against the Minister of Labour Costis Hatzidakis, Chief of the Armed Forces Konstantinos Floros, Chief of the General Staff Charalambos Lalousis, former National Security Adviser Alexandros Diakopoulos, the head of the General Directorate of Armaments Aristides Alexopoulos, as well as the latter’s predecessor in the same position Theodoros Lagios.

In fact, the disclosure of the ADAE’s findings to Parliament was made following a meeting between the then leader of the opposition Alexis Tsipras and Mr. Rammos, after the Parliament’s Institutions and Transparency Committee, the parliamentary committee that was in charge of investigating the surveillance scandal, and  majority controlled by the New Democracy Party, had rejected the ADAE chairman’s request for a meeting in order to present the findings of the independent Authority’s audits. In fact, the President of the Parliament, Costas Tasoulas, who had also received the request to convene the Committee, disparagingly described Rammos as a “self-invited guest“, adding that only the Committee may call a meeting, according to institutional procedure. It is worth noting that constitutionalist and professor of Public Law and Social Administration at Panteion University Xenophon Kontiadis characterised this as an “institutional flaw“. 

Furthermore, the briefing of a political leader by the ADAE is institutionally permissible, provided for by article 8(6) of Law No. 5002/2022 (Government Gazette A’ 228/9.12.2022), according to which the president of the ADAE shall inform the Speaker of the Parliament, the leaders of the parties represented in the Parliament and the Minister of Justice on issues concerning the lifting of the secrecy of communications.

A few months later, on 1 November 2023, Mr Mitsotakis in open Parliament accused Mr Rammos of having a ‘personal agenda,’ of being in an ‘open channel of communication with SYRIZA’, and describing the ADAE as a “sieve”. As in the case of Mr. Economou’s attacks, the Prime Minister alleged that the ADAE’s investigations were not motivated by its institutional role, but by political motives linked to the opposition’s agenda. 

These accusations were made at a moment when the wiretapping scandal was making headlines following the revelation that the government had accelerated the process of replacing some members of the ADAE after President Rammos had announced an upcoming meeting of the Independent Authority to discuss the imposition of a fine of 100,000 euros on the Intelligence Agency for refusing to cooperate with the ADAE’s investigation (1, 2). 

On 2 November 2023, during a conference on independent authorities, Mr Ramos responded to these allegations, commenting that during his forty year career as a judge his motives had never been questioned, and that he feels that his honor and reputation have been compromised, which, he maintains, is not an atmosphere in which the head of an independent authority in a European country should have to perform his duties. He also  spoke of ‘difficulties’ and ‘attempts to prevent the Authority from carrying out checks’ during the investigation of the wiretapping case, describing Doyakos’ opinion as a “warning, bordering on a threat” against the members of the independent authority. He added that, when the state does not respect the independence of the authorities and the personal and functional independence of their members, everything else is a luxury and the authorities are not independent. With intimidated members and staff, authorities are not effective, and are merely decorative.

Konstantinos Menoudakos, president of the independent authority for Data Protection  (DPA), supported the ADAE, commenting that in twenty-five years of operation, he has never seen such behaviour directed towards independent authorities.  Menoudakos added that he believes the attacks certainly go beyond any criticism and can be interpreted as a threat.

Rammos’ testimony to the LIBE Committee of the European Parliament on 26 October 2023, highlighted the circumstances surrounding the official circulated opinion of the Supreme Court prosecutor, Doyakos, claiming that the opinion was accompanied by threats that if the ADAE did not comply with the opinion, it would probably be subject to prosecution on charges such as spying on members of the administration and staff. Rammos maintains, however, that the investigation is covered within ADAE’s remit, under Law 3115/2003, which was not amended at all by the 2022 law on which the opinion was based. Therefore, Rammos confirmed, he had publicly stated that the opinion was contrary to the constitutionally guaranteed independence of ADAE.

In the same statement, Rammos claimed that he was insulted and threatened personally, publicly and crudely, by MPs and government officials when the ADAE had tried to meet with the then leader of the opposition, on his own request, and based on institutional procedure rooted in the legislation in force (5002/2022, article 8(6)), to find out whether high-ranking public officials were targeted for surveillance by the state intelligence agency, EYP.