Minister: we do not tap your phone calls

THE JUSTICE Minister yesterday reassured the public that police were not tapping civilians’ telephone conversations.

Speaking to CyBC, Sophocles Sophocleous refuted claims made by three telecom companies during Thursday’s House Legal Affairs Committee session that police were bullying employees into giving them telecommunication details.

He also called on the companies to make official complaints on their claims, which will be investigated.

The minister said he had met with deputy police chief Michalis Papageorgiou on Thursday night, who assured him bugging was not taking place and that police had never pressurised anyone into giving them information.

Attorney-general Petros Clerides also commented on the affair yesterday, saying the police were entitled to requesting the name of a subscriber whose number they already have to assist their investigations.

He said he would request the details of Thursday’s parliamentary discussion to determine what exactly had been said.

The Cyprus Telecommunications Authority (CyTA), one of the companies behind the claims, yesterday issued an announcement denying the claims and saying the entire issue had been taken out of context.

Clerides pointed out that if police were indeed requesting information on private telephone conversations, then this was done “without the Legal Services’ approval”.

Referring to the companies, which include OTENET and MTN, the AG said they should submit specific evidence to back their claims, in which case he would order an investigation.

The allegations were made during discussions over a harmonising bill, which if passed, will allow the observation of private telecommunication to assist investigations into serious crimes, such as murder and drug or human trafficking.

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