Journalist Stavros Malichudis learned his phone was being tapped by the Greek government on a Saturday morning last November while reading a newspaper article at home. Greece’s Journal of Editors (or EFSYN) had published leaked documents showing several citizens had been wiretapped by the country’s intelligence service, including one journalist who covered refugee issues. “I saw that and I was like whoa . . . this looks a bit familiar,” Malichudis told Jacobin. “So I sent it to colleagues. I said, ‘Guys, this was probably about me.’”

In the following months, Malichudis learned he was under state surveillance due to “national security concerns,” and that he was not the only one. A deluge of reports revealed that several Greek journalists and opposition lawmakers were wiretapped on account of similarly nonspecific concerns. Far more sinister, several of them had also been targeted by the illegal surveillance software Predator, which has the ability to access every message, photo, and call on a cell phone. Investigative outlets and people targeted by Predator have pointed fingers at the ruling New Democracy party. The right-wing government has denied using the program but admitted to a certain degree of official wiretapping.

“I think it’s safe to say these surveillances don’t actually serve national security, but they serve specific government interests,” said Malichudis.