Source: Danas
OUR STORY: The Security Information Agency answered a question of the Youth Initiative for Human Rights after three years. A document with such content is not envisaged by secondary legislation which provide for the work of the SIA, says the communication.Belgrade - The number of persons tapped by Serbian secret services is unknown and it has been speculated for decades. The Security Information Agency (SIA) answered the question of the Youth Initiative for Human Rights about the number of tapped persons in 2005, which was submitted according to the Law on Free Access to Information, that it could not provide a copy of a document “containing information on the number of submitted requests for tapping in 2005 or information on the number of persons who were tapped on the basis of submitted requests because such document does not exist”. It was also indicated that “a document with such content is not envisaged by secondary legislation which provides for the work of the SIA”.
Dragan Popovi from the Youth Initiative for Human Rights said for Danas that the question about the number of tapped persons had been asked to the SIA as early as on 31 October 2005, but in spite of everything this answer was an important event because after three years we have some kind of opening from the SIA . He said that it was impossible the SIA did not have information on the number of tapped persons.
Commissioner for Information of Public Importance Rodoljub `abi said for Danas that moves of the SIA showed intention to change the relation towards obligations provide for in the Law on Free Access to Information and they confirmed the recent words of Director of the Agency Saaa Vukadinovi and his associates that current relation would be changed from the root. - Summary information on a number of tapped persons without answers to questions - who, where, why, how long, how etc. cannot threaten any interest. Indeed, the SIA stated no counter-argument. Even if it did, I doubt it would change my attitude. My colleague from Slovenia once rejected a similar complaint against their SOVA (Slovenian Intelligence and Security Agency). I still think that it wouldn't be harmful, but on the contrary useful, to publish this information - Mr. `abi said.
Belgrade - The number of persons tapped by Serbian secret services is unknown and it has been speculated for decades. The Security Information Agency (SIA) answered to the question of the Youth Initiative for Human Rights about a number of tapped persons in 2005, which was submitted according to the Law on Free Access to Information, that it could not provide a copy of a document containing information on the number of submitted requests for tapping in 2005 or information on the number of persons who were tapped on the basis of submitted requests because such document does not exist. It was also indicated that a document with such content is not envisaged by secondary legislation which provides for work of the Security Information Agency .
HOPE THAT SIA WILL CHANGE
Dragan Popovic from the Youth Initiative for Human Rights said for Danas that the question about the number of tapped persons had been asked to the SIA as early as on 31 October 2005.
- Information on the number of tapped persons does not contain a lot. The SIA answered that they did not have the document on the number of tapped persons and that it was not envisaged by secondary legislation, so they did not send us a number. In spite of that, this is an important event because after three years we have some kind of opening from the SIA - Mr. Popovi said. According to our collocutor it is impossible that the SIA does not have information on the number of tapped persons. - I do not believe that. They used the part of the Law according to which they do not have the obligation to make new documents on a request from an information requester. However, this is information created during the work or in connection with the work of this institution and they should have this information. I wonder what they submit in the yearly report to the Security Committee of the Serbian Assembly which should control their work. Is it possible that they do not say what number of persons has been tapped? I honestly doubt that - Mr. Popovic said. He added that they sent a new request to the SIA as early as last year for the same information, but for 2007, hoping that something has changed from 2005 to 2007 and that they now have this information . - It sounds somewhat irresponsible that the secret service does not have information on the number of persons it taps - Mr. Popovi concludes. The first answer according to the law from 2004. As early as at he end of May 2006 The Supreme Court of Serbia rejected complaint of the BIA on the Commissioner's decision ordering the disclosure of the number of tapped citizens, but the SIA has not acted according to the court decision until recently although it had the deadline of three days to submit the above information. Still, this is the first time that Serbian secret service answers a question according to the Law on Free Access to Information adopted as early as in 2004. The SIA answered to the Initiative invoking the decision of Commissioner for Information of Public Importance Rodoljub `abi from 22 December 2005.
RIGHT OF THE PUBLIC TO KNOW
Mr. `abi said for Danas that moves of the SIA showed intention to change the relation towards obligations provided for in the Law on Free Access to Information and they confirmed what Director of the Agency Saaa Vukadinovi and his associates said to him at the meeting recently. - I then insisted on my well-known attitude that current relation was not acceptable and they assured me that it would be changed from the root. Until recently, that relation has virtually implied complete disregard of the law. There were not many orders from the Commissioner, not even ten of them, but it was symptomatic that they did not act according to any of them. Only now in the procedure of enforcing of these orders some persons received requested documents, i.e. information. Some persons received only a notification that the Agency does not have document containing requested information - Mr. `abi said. According to him, if the SIA had answered that it did not have requested documents instead of ignoring the requests, some of complaints and some of Commissioner's orders would not have been submitted.
- As it is, now it has to notify requesters in the procedure of enforcing that it does not have documents. In some cases it can refer them to the Archive of Serbia to which it gave documents and in some cases it cannot do even that. The latter refers to several orders the subjects of which are files of the victims of the revolutionary terror 1944-45 and to the famous order on the number of tapped persons in 2005 - Mr. `abi said. He added that he passed the order on disclosure of information on the number of tapped persons based on the legal assumption that the public has the right to know every information on government's work and that a government body which wants to deny this right to the public has to prove that giving information in the specific case would be a threat some other legitimate interest which is prevailing at that moment. - Summary information on the number of tapped persons without answers to questions - who, where, why, how long, how etc. cannot threaten any interest. Acting in its ignorant manner, the SIA stated no counter-argument. Even if it did, I doubt it would change my attitude. My colleague from Slovenia once rejected similar complaint against their SOVA (Slovenian Intelligence and Security Agency). I still think that it wouldn't be harmful, but on the contrary useful, to publish this information - Mr. `abi said. The Commissioner also said that such response from the SIA was based on the fact that their records implied the existence of different documents in which cases were dealt with according to the number of orders or requests for tapping and that several persons could be covered by one case, deliberately or accidentally, and the total number of them could be stated only after processing each document.
- Of course, many persons won't believe that the SIA does not have a document containing requested information, but because we all know that the Agency can always make such a document it is much more interesting to start exactly from the fact that it does not have it. If it does not have it, it means that nobody, including the competent Parliamentary board, requested it except the Youth Initiative. And that really says much - quite unflatteringly - about the level of civil control of security services - Mr. `abi explained.
Interfile: Tapping only with court order
Under the Criminal Proceedings Code, a tapping order can be passed exclusively by an investigating judge on a written and explained proposal of the public prosecutor. Tapping and recording can last up to three months and it can be prolonged for another three months for important reasons. Tapping and recording can be applied to a person who is suspected to have committed a criminal offence against constitutional order and security of the State, humanity and international law, organized crime, murder, serial rape, robbery, money forging and laundering, tax evasion, narcotics dealing, unauthorized possession of weapons and explosive substances, giving and taking bribe, abuse of power, blackmail, extortion and kidnapping. A tapping order passed by an investigating judge is enforced by the police and the SIA, while postal, telegraph and other companies registered for transmission of information must enable the police and the SIA to perform tapping.
