Kostas Tsalikidis

A Greek prosecutor has brought murder charges against unknown perpetrators over a telecoms executives death - initially dismissed as suicide - on the eve of a major wiretap scandal in 2005.

The charges formally filed Thursday mean that Greek judicial authorities will now try to establish who was responsible for the March 2005 hanging death of Costas Tsalikidis.

An Athens Appeals Court prosecutor on Wednesday reopened the case of the alleged suicide of a mobile telephone company executive implicated in a major wiretapping scandal in the wake of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.

An appeals court prosecutor in Athens has asked to see the case file concerning the death of a telecoms engineer in 2005 shortly before the outbreak of a scandal involving the wiretapping of Greece's political leadership, to ascertain whether it needs to be reopened. 

The European Court of Human Rights on Thursday ordered the Greek state to pay 50,000 euros in damages and expenses to the family of Costas Tsalikidis, a mobile telephone company worker who was found hanged in his home in March 2005, shortly before a major wiretapping scandal involving his firm became public.