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Deutsch: Europäische Kommission besorgt über illegale Abhöraktionen in Bulga...
Based on a request for access to public information, Dnevnik daily newspaper has been able to access and publish information showing that a third of the wiretaps in Bulgaria have no proper legal coverage, being performed without an authorisation from a judge.
This is possible due to a "flexible" formulation of the procedure for requesting the interception of a person's communications. An internal directive issued by Boris Velchev, the prosecutor-general allows prosecutors to request eavesdropping without the authorisation of a judge when a criminal investigation has been opened.
According to Dvevnik, based on this procedure, 2 767 such cases of illegal eavesdropping have already taken place in seven months. The daily also revealed that, according to economists, Bulgaria spends 50 times more than the UK on eavesdropping.
While the Bulgarian press reveals a significant increase of eavesdropping under the government of Boyko Borissov, the Bulgarian Prime-Minister justifies the government eavesdropping as an important instrument in fighting organised crime.
The European Commission has recently requested information from the Bulgarian authorities related to the legality of the eavesdropping activities, following leaks into Galeria tabloid concerning taped phone conversations in which apparently Boyko Borissov spoke of the need to "protect" a controversial businessperson from customs checks. As a result of the scandal in the press, Borissov asked for a vote of confidence in the Parliament, which he won on 20 January 2011.
The ALDE group submitted on 21 January 2011 a question to the Commission asking clarifications over the application of the Bulgarian wiretap law, which infringes the Bulgarian Constitution, the provisions of the Lisbon Treaty, the ECHR and the European Charter of Fundamental Rights.
"The current Bulgarian scandal over the escalating use of Special Intelligence Means is a stain on the image of Bulgaria in the same way as the Hungarian media law this week taints the international image of that country. The data collected from the special services in Bulgaria is leaking widely and the only independent mechanism for control over the special services has been abolished. There is a widespread paranoia spreading amongst Bulgarian society. The European Commission should step in and uphold the rights of Bulgarian citizens under EU law before this situation gets out of hand," said ALDE MEP Stanimir Ilchev.
The European Commission is expected to present a report in February on progress made by Bulgaria under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism monitoring procedure.
One third of eavesdropping in Bulgaria illegal (21.01.2011)
http://www.euractiv.com/en/enlargement/third-eavesdropping-bulgaria-il...
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http://www.euractiv.com/en/enlargement/wiretap-scandal-rocks-bulgarian...
Any third monitoring of GSM and the Internet has no control (only in
Bulgarian, 22.01.2011)
http://www.dnevnik.bg/bulgaria/2011/01/20/1028603_vsiako_treto_sledene...
Eavesdropping scandal in Bulgaria: Commission must investigate (21.01.2011)
http://www.alde.eu/press/press-and-release-news/press-release/article/...
EDRi-gram: Protests in Bulgaria against eavesdropping and data retention law
(13.01.2010)
http://www.edri.org/edrigram/number8.1/bulgarian-protests-data-retenti...