Athens Olympics phone tapping revealed

[Fiona]

The mobile phones of Greek prime minister Costas Caramanlis and top government and security officials were tapped by unknown individuals during the Athens 2004 Olympics and for nearly a year after, the government said yesterday.

"The people [under surveillance] included the prime minister himself and other members of the government," government spokesman Theodoros Roussopoulos told a news conference.

The list of about 100 people whose telephones were tapped included the ministers of foreign affairs, defence, public order and justice. Most of Greece's top military and police officers were also targeted, as were foreign ministry officials, a US embassy number and the prime minister's wife, Natasha.

The phone tapping "started before the 2004 Olympic games and probably continued until March 2005, when it was discovered," Mr Roussopoulos said.

But Mr Roussopoulos, backed by public order minister Giorgos Voulgarakis and justice minister Anastassis Papaligouras, said it had not been possible to identify who was behind the surveillance. "It was an unknown individual, or individuals, who used high technology," he said.

The government revealed that the phone tappers used interceptors traced to the vicinity of the US embassy.

The hi-tech surveillance system came to light after a routine check by Vodafone, the mobile phone company serving the targets, Mr Roussopoulos said. Spy software installed in the provider's central officers had diverted calls to an array of mobile phones acting as interceptors.

"Had it not been for the check [by Vodafone] it is very conceivable the wiretaps would have continued beyond [March 2005] when they were discovered," added Mr Voulgarakis. "Our investigations into this [matter] have been highly detailed and time-consuming."

Greece was closely watched by western anti-terrorist experts as it prepared to host the Olympics, the world's biggest event after the September 11 attacks. Washington had led demands for terrorist-prone Athens to tighten security ahead of the Olympic games.

guardian.co.uk