GREECE: The mobile phones of Greece's prime minister and several of its cabinet members were tapped by unknown perpetrators for about one year, the government said yesterday.
"The phones tapped included the prime minister's, those of cabinet members, one former minister now in opposition, and others," government spokesman Theodore Roussopoulos told a news conference.
He was confirming an earlier report in the daily newspaper Ta Nea.
He said public prosecutors had brought charges of violating the privacy of telephone communications against unknown perpetrators.
A judicial investigation would also look into possible charges of espionage, he added.
The wiretaps lasted from just before the 2004 Athens Olympics until March 2005, when mobile phone company Vodafone Greece discovered the activity.
The head of Vodafone Greece, George Koronias, reported that about 100 mobiles were being monitored.
Among those tapped were Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, several ministers, most mobile phones used by the defence and public order ministries, some belonging to the foreign ministry and even one listed under the US embassy, Mr Roussopoulos said. - (Reuters)