Greek Panel Urges Vodafone's Prosecution Over Wiretaps

ATHENS (AP)--The head of a parliamentary committee investigating a phone-tapping scandal that targeted Greek Prime Minister Costas Caramanlis and other top officials called on Monday for the prosecution of telecom giant Vodafone Group.

"According to the evidence we saw today, a prosecutor should press charges tomorrow morning against Vodafone," committee chairman Anastassios Karamarios said.

He was speaking after receiving an interim report by Greece's telecoms privacy committee, or ADAE, which is probing the wiretapping during and after the Athens 2004 Olympics.

The ADAE report made public on Monday focused on modifications made in January 2005 to rogue software secretly installed in four Vodafone centers to allow the wiretaps.

"We believe that the assistance of an individual within Vodafone with authorized access was necessary to allow the software's modification," the report said.

The illegal surveillance targeted Vodafone cell phones used by senior state security officials from just before the August 2004 Games until March 2005.

A list of numbers given to parliament by Vodafone Greece also included mobile phones owned by senior military officers, human rights activists, journalists, Arab businessmen and a one used by the U.S. Embassy.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires"

Posted to the site on 10th April 2006