Brussels Alarmed over Avalanche of Wiretaps in Bulgaria

Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boyko Borisov has admitted that he is regularly wiretapping members of the government and heads of authorities, drawing criticism that he blatantly abuses his office and breaks the laws. Photo by EPA

Members of the European Parliament from Bulgaria, Romania, Holland and Luxembourg have approached the European Commission over an alleged excessive and illegal use of special surveillance devices in Bulgaria.

"The use of special surveillance devices has spread enormously with no guarantees for respecting the law or the national security," the statement, issued by the MEPs, all of them from the Liberal Party, says.

It calls on the European Commission to probe whether the current situation violates the human rights of the Bulgarian citizens and the right of privacy.

Bulgaria experienced last week an avalanche of leaked wiretaps which first targeted the country's interior minister, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, and then focused on Prime Minister Boyko Borissov.

The scandalous recordings were released by Galeria weekly, alleging that Borisov provided a cover-up for the owner of the "Ledenika" beer company, Mihail Mihov.

Borisov himself did not shy away from admitting that he is regularly wiretapping members of the government and heads of authorities, drawing criticism that he blatantly abuses his office and breaks the laws.

Under local legislation, adopted after the collapse of the communist regime, wiretapping is allowed only 'for the prevention and investigation of serious crime as defined by the criminal code when evidence cannot be gathered in any other way.'

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