President PASOK-Movement for Change Nikos Androulakis from the hall of the plenary session of the European Parliament at a special session on the rule of law sharply criticized the government and the prime minister personally Kyriakos Mitsotakis on the issue of monitoring. “Twice Mr. Mitsotakis changed the law to prevent legally informing targets,” said Mr. Androulakis, among other things.

Live broadcast of the plenary session of the European Parliament https://t.co/higCTqvb1f

— Nikos Androulakis (@androulakisnick) February 15, 2023

He called the fantasy scenarios “messages from a confused media, an attempt to protect oneself from an alleged scandal involving third countries.” No matter how much they try to break my resolve with sci-fi scenarios reminiscent of QAnon and Trump, you can be sure that they will not achieve anything,” as he characteristically said.

Also, praised the actions of ADAE head Christos Rammosstating that “…government officials even proceeded to the despicable assassination of the president of the competent Independent Body, Christos Rammos, because he continued to investigate.”

Full speech by Nikos Androulakis:

Friends.

Democracy cannot exist without a strong and reliable state of law for citizens, guaranteeing the protection of their rights from state arbitrariness.

In recent years, institutions have suffered serious blows.

But the answer to this slide cannot be a set-off between this and the previous government.

The Greek people deserve much more than a continuation of the lineage.

I am here not only as a colleague and victim of a gross violation of human rights.

But also as the chairman of the faction that created the Independent Authority in Greece and fought for democracy, transparency and social justice all along.

But what have we learned in the six months that have passed since the European Parliament services uncovered an attempt to spy on my phone using the Predator?

The narrow core in the Maximos Palace, led by the nephew of the Prime Minister, using the EMP as a tool, watched with the justification of the alleged “national danger” in addition to me, journalists, MEPs and even the current minister, as well as leading members of the armed forces.

After the exposure, they publicly stated that they sought to shed light on everything, but all we saw was gloom and an attempt to blame the victims.

They undermined the Commission of Inquiry in the Greek Parliament by excluding important witnesses from being called and resorting to “secrecy”.

Twice Mr. Mitsotakis changed the law to prevent legal notification of targets.

Government officials even went so far as to horribly assassinate the president of the competent independent body, Mr. Christos Rammos, for continuing to investigate.

Of course, a few years ago, when he defended the freedom of the press as a judge against the arbitrariness of the previous government, then he was good for the New Democracy and bad for SYRIZA.

But when you walk without principles and values, it quickly becomes clear that you do not want to face the monster, but to imitate it.

Colleagues,

Unfortunately, at the present time the press, instead of control, is more and more subordinate to the relevant authorities.

Even the request that I have announced and submitted since autumn, together with authoritative constitutional experts, to establish whether the Greek government, when it was watching me in 2021, violated the national and European rules of my immunity, is today becoming the subject of slander.

Submitted by the media involved as my attempt to defend myself against an alleged scandal involving third countries.

No matter how much they try to break my resolve with sci-fi scenarios reminiscent of QAnon and Trump, you can be sure that they will not achieve anything.

From the very beginning of this case, I took on all institutional initiatives, using all the opportunities that Greek and European justice gives me. Because it is our duty above all to stand in the way of the forces that have driven our country into economic division, plunging the Greek people into a ten-year painful adventure. Now, by their practices, the same forces are leading the country to an institutional bias.

It is the duty of the Greek judiciary to expose the protagonists and those who tried to cover it up by insulting both the Constitution and the intellect of the Greek citizens.

The challenge today is to eliminate the dangers that threaten liberal democracy throughout Europe.

The greatest of these dangers is the tendency of citizens to think that they are defenseless against the malicious use of technology, and their acquiescence.

That they are at the mercy of any government or private agency that can violate the confidentiality of messages and personal data.

That it is utopian to demand respect for the Constitution, the laws and the personality of the people.

We have left the field open to the onslaught of fake news and internet monsters.

Let us, as a Union, do something radical and institutional to prevent the complete triviality of the concept of the rule of law. Unless we believe that without his guarantees there can be a united Europe.

With information from APE-MPE