Four businessmen convicted in a sweeping phone surveillance case will face an appeals court on December 11, 2026, as investigations ordered by the court of first instance continue to unfold.
The men were each sentenced to 126 years in prison – with eight years to be served – for offenses including illegal access to personal data filing systems, violation of telephone and verbal communications privacy, and unauthorized access to information systems.
The sentences were suspended pending appeal, but conviction at the second level would send them to prison, as the trial court had called for full sentences to be served.
Separately, senior prosecutors at the Supreme Court will investigate espionage-related charges – at minimum in their misdemeanor form – targeting not only the four convicted men but also eight individuals whose possible involvement emerged during the trial, and any others the investigation may reveal.
The court of first instance ordered the expanded probe, citing the large number and variety of surveillance targets, which included members of Parliament, ministers, judges and military officers, as well as the possible involvement of foreign actors – specifically Israeli.
Nine additional individuals, described by the court as having held “equally full knowledge and decisive authority over operations,” face investigation for the same charges. Among them is a man identified as a butcher, from whose prepaid card infected text messages were sent to PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis and others.