The Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not respond to Homo Digitalis on PREDATOR
On 11 October 2022, Homo Digitalis submitted a request to the Directorate for Multilateral Economic Relations and Trade Policy of the General Secretariat for International Economic Relations and Externalisation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
We sought information on the approval/rejection of dual-use technology export license requests, as well as the country of destination of the end user. It was a strategic action in order to find out with statistical data whether technologies such as PREDATOR had been given the green light for export by the Greek authorities.
We received no response to our request, despite the fact that European legislation, and in particular Article 23 of Regulation 2021/821, provides for the keeping of relevant statistical data by the competent authorities of the Member States.
On 30 November 2022, a months-long investigation, the result of Inside Story.’s collaboration with the investigative journalism organisation Lighthouse Reports and the Israeli newspaper Haaretz brings to light that an aircraft linked to the Israeli PREDATOR tycoon delivered surveillance technology to notorious paramilitaries in Sudan in May 2022.
Yesterday, the deputy foreign minister said in a radio interview with Real FM that “”The export license given to Predator and Sudan has nothing to do with the civil war. The civil war was not caused by it.”
The session we co-organized at the Privacy Camp for PREDATOR was successfully completed
Homo Digitalis had the pleasure of participating in the privacy camp organized by European Digital Rights in Brussels a few days ago.
Among the topics discussed were the preservation of electronic communications metadata, spyware, immigration and the use of new technologies and sex workers rights.
Of particular interest was the Workshop In spyware we trust. With new tools come new problems with speakers European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) Wojciech Wiewiórowski, @EU_EDPS Rebecca White Campaigner – Disrupting Surveillance Team at Amnesty Tech, Bastien Le Querrec, member of La Quadrature Du Net, and Elisa Triantafillou, journalist of inside story, who presented how she and her team uncovered the use of predator software in Greece.
Our organisation was represented by Eleftherios Chelioudakis and Elpida Vamvaka.
Many congratulations to EDRi for organizing such timely and interesting discussions.
Register for the session we are co-organizing at the Privacy Camp for the use of PREDATOR in Greece
Did you register?
On 25 January, Privacy Camp takes place in Brussels, one of the most important annual meetings in the field of digital rights organised by the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS), European Digital Rights – EDRi, VUB – Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Privacy Salon and iee.
Together with EDRi we are co-organising a summit on the use of spyware, in which we are honoured to have as our guest the journalist Elise Triantafyllou from inside.story who was the leading reporter in the revelations about the use of Predator in Greece.
Register completely free of charge for attendance in person or online until 18/1 here.
Homo Digitalis speaks to the PEGA Committee of the European Parliament during her visit to Greece
The European Parliament’s Committee of Inquiry into the investigation into the use of spyware in the EU is in Greece this week!
Homo Digitalis has been invited to appear before it to give evidence on the significant challenges to the rule of law, democracy and human rights. We will be represented at this meeting by the Vice President of the Board, Stefanos Vitoratos.
The Commission of Inquiry will also meet representatives of journalists from InsideStory and Reporters United, who highlighted #Pretarorgate with their investigation, as well as representatives of civil society and political parties, among others.