PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION LAUNCHED INTO ALLEGED PHONE-TAPPING

ZAGREB, Oct 1 (Hina) - The Chief State Prosecutor's Office has initiated a preliminary investigation into claims by Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) officials that their phones are being tapped, including those in the office of their club of deputies in parliament, sources at the Chief State Prosecutor's Office have said. #L# "After HDZ president Ivo Sanader failed to respond to the Chief State Prosecutor's request to submit evidence on phone-tapping, the Chief State Prosecutor's Office requested the Zagreb Municipal Prosecutor's Office to initiate a preliminary investigation," said Milojko Vuckovic, Deputy Chief State Prosecutor. The preliminary investigation has been launched to ascertain if there are elements for launching an investigation into possible illegal recording and phone-tapping, Vuckovic said. He explained that formally nobody had pressed charges and that the preliminary investigation had been launched on the basis of statements and articles in the press, from which arose founded suspicion that a criminal act which was prosecuted in the line of duty had been committed. The case of alleged phone-tapping was launched by HDZ president Ivo Sanader, who accused two ruling parties -- the Social Democratic Party and the Croatian Peasant Party -- of having the phones of opposition politicians and journalists tapped, which the two parties dismissed. The HDZ then stated that the phone of its club of deputies in parliament had been tapped as well, and that "remains of bugging devices" had been discovered in the office. (hina) rml sb