Anna-Michelle Asimakopoulou on trial over Greek diaspora data breach

The trial, held at the 4th Three-Member Misdemeanor Court of Athens, also involves three other defendants: Former Interior Ministry Secretary General Michalis Stavrianoudakis, then New Democracy Diaspora Secretary Nikos Theodoropoulos, and Menios Komilas, the party’s organizational secretary for Local Government and Crisis Management. They face charges of violating official secrecy and Greek personal data protection laws.

Defendants deny charges

The trial opened with witness testimonies. The first witness, an engineer living abroad during the period in question, said he was shocked to learn his personal data had been leaked from the Interior Ministry.

At the start of proceedings, all defendants denied wrongdoing. Ms. Asimakopoulou’s defense argued she committed no improper act, claiming she was unaware the data was confidential and did not suspect her actions were illegal.

The other defendants similarly maintained that they were unaware of the file’s content. Mr. Theodoropoulos stated that he had received the file legally in his official capacity from Menios Komilas and forwarded it to Ms. Asimakopoulou for postal vote promotion purposes, not for the purpose it was allegedly used.

A total of 92 affected individuals, who were residents abroad at the time, have joined the trial in support of the prosecution.

Witness testimony

The first witness explained that he had provided the Interior Ministry with extensive personal information in 2023 to register for overseas voting, including tax returns and Taxisnet codes. When he received an email from Ms. Asimakopoulou containing the data, he said he was initially curious but soon shocked. “As soon as we realized the information came from the applications we submitted to the Interior Ministry, it was shocking. No one could imagine the state would use our personal data this way,” he testified.

The trial is scheduled to continue on May 8.