Athens court convicts former New Democracy MEP Anna-Michel Asimakopoulou over diaspora voter email leak
A three-member misdemeanor court in Athens handed suspended prison sentences to four defendants, including former European Parliament member Anna-Michel Asimakopoulou, for leaking the personal data of Greek voters abroad ahead of the 2024 European elections.
Verdict and sentences
A Three-Member Misdemeanor Court of Athens found all four defendants guilty on 22 June 2026 in the case concerning the leak of email addresses of diaspora Greeks shortly before the 2024 European Parliament elections. Anna-Michel Asimakopoulou, a former New Democracy MEP, received a 20-month prison sentence, suspended for three years. Michalis Stavrianoudakis, the former general secretary of the Ministry of Interior, was sentenced to 18 months, also suspended. Two former party officials, Nikos Theodoropoulos and Menios Koromilas, received 8 and 12 months respectively, both suspended for three years. The court recognised the mitigating factor of a prior lawful life for all four.
- Anna-Michel Asimakopoulou
- 20 months
- Michalis Stavrianoudakis
- 18 months
- Menios Koromilas
- 12 months
- Nikos Theodoropoulos
- 8 months
Charges and court split
Asimakopoulou was convicted of both charges: violation of service confidentiality and breach of personal data protection law. The guilty verdict for the confidentiality charge was by majority (2-1), with the president of the court dissenting, while the data protection conviction was unanimous. Stavrianoudakis was also found guilty on both counts, but both decisions were by majority, as the president believed he should be acquitted. Theodoropoulos and Koromilas were acquitted of the confidentiality charge but convicted of the data protection offence; the former by majority and the latter unanimously.
Stavrianoudakis and Asimakopoulou must be found guilty of both acts they are charged with, because they knew very well what they were doing.
The prosecutor had argued that Asimakopoulou, with her experience of electoral rolls, understood data protection rules, and noted that the leaked file contained over 25,000 voters while the New Democracy diaspora list had only 1,140 registrants. She described the other two defendants as "postmen" of the file without intent to harm.
Background of the leak
The case dates back to the run-up to the June 2024 European elections, when diaspora Greeks received unsolicited campaign emails from Asimakopoulou's political office. The file containing their addresses allegedly originated from Stavrianoudakis at the Interior Ministry. Two of the three complainants, residents abroad, were present in the courtroom.
Administrative fines
Separately, the Council of State upheld administrative fines imposed by the Data Protection Authority: 40,000 euros on Asimakopoulou and 10,000 euros each on Theodoropoulos and Koromilas. The court accepted an appeal by New Democracy, cancelling the fine against the party. The Data Protection Authority had also fined the Ministry of Interior 400,000 euros for the breach.
