An Athens court today (Thursday) sentenced four senior members of the Intellexa group, including two Israelis, in connection with the espionage case known as the "Greek Watergate."
The case sparked a major scandal that transcended borders and brought the issue of using commercial spyware against politicians and journalists back into the European conversation.
Among the convicted: Tal Dilian, a former senior officer in Israel's Military Intelligence (IMINT), and his business partner Sarah Alexander Faisal Hamo, alongside two Greek businessmen. The four were sentenced to a combined total of 126 years and eight months in prison, with eight years to be served in prison.
At the heart of the case was the Predator spyware, marketed by the Intellexa group, which operated out of Athens and was founded by Dilian. The court convicted the defendants of charges including "violating the confidentiality of telephone communications," "disturbing the system for recording personal data on a recurring basis," and "illegal access to an information system or data." The defendants have filed an appeal against the decision.
According to the details of the case, the two Israelis and the two Greek businessmen used the "Watergate" surveillance software to track 87 individuals, including government ministers, senior military officials, and journalists.