The trial of former MEP Anna-Michelle Asimakopoulou and three other individuals began with witness testimonies at the 4th Three-Member Misdemeanor Court of Athens, regarding the scandal involving the personal data breach of Greek diaspora members. The defendants – Ms. Asimakopoulou, former Interior Ministry Secretary General Michalis Stavrianoudakis, then New Democracy Diaspora Secretary Nikos Theodoropoulos, and Menios Komilas, who served as the party’s organizational secretary for Local Government and Crisis Management – are being tried for charges of official secrecy violation and personal data protection law violation.
Read: Anna Michelle Asimakopoulou in the dock for diaspora email leak case – Trial in November
Trial for diaspora personal data breach – Defendants deny charges
The trial began with witness testimonies. The first witness, an engineer who was living abroad during the disputed period, explained how he was shocked when he realized his personal data had been leaked from the Interior Ministry.
At the start of proceedings, the defendants declared they deny the charges, with Ms. Asimakopoulou invoking excusable legal error through her defense. “She didn’t know it was confidential. She had no suspicion it was illegal. No improper action or act on her part,” her defense stated.
The other two defendants declared they didn’t know the file’s contents, while Mr. Theodoropoulos claimed he received the file legally. According to his defense, due to his position at the time, he had received the file to exercise his duties from Menios Komilas who forwarded it to him. He then forwarded it to Ms. Michelle Asimakopoulou as press representative of the European group. As his defense noted, he forwarded the material to Ms. Asimakopoulou not for the purpose she used it, but for postal vote promotion matters.
In the trial, 92 affected parties who were residents abroad during the disputed time have declared their participation in support of the prosecution.
Witness testimony
The witness testified in court that he provided his details to the Interior Ministry in 2023 to register in the overseas electoral rolls. He said he had submitted almost everything – tax returns, taxisnet codes, all his personal information.
When he received the email from Ms. Asimakopoulou, the witness said he initially felt curiosity about what happened and then felt shock. “As soon as we realized they came from the applications we had made to the Interior Ministry, it was shocking for us. No one could imagine that the state would use our personal data this way,” the witness said.
The trial will continue on May 8th.
