Georgian NGOs demand to forbid the secret shadowing and tapping by special services

The promises of the authorities to stop the practice of citizens' tapping by security services and law enforcement bodies were not fulfilled, said NGO activists in Georgia. In her turn, Manana Kobakhidze, the vice-speaker of the Georgian parliament, said that they are preparing to consider the legislation to address this issue.

Let us remind you that on July 5, 2013, a number of NGOs addressed the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Georgia asking to destroy the archive of personal materials and ban any further secret surveillance of Georgian citizens.

Eka Gigauri, a representative of the "Transparency International-Georgia", said at a press conference held in the office of the Fund "Open Society Georgia" that the so-called "black boxes" installed by the MIA at mobile operators are still in place. With the help of these devices, MIA agents have direct access to such information, like phone calls, SMS-messages and emails.

The issue of tapping was raised in the reports of Thomas Hammarberg (Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe in 2006-2012, – note of the "Caucasian Knot") and the US Department of State in 2003-2013, said Gigauri, stressing that the problem is still unresolved.

According to Manana Kobakhidze, the sitting of the Parliament's Bureau has instructed the Committee on Legal Matters to start hearings within three weeks.