ZAGREB, March 22 (Hina) - The council for civilian control over security agencies has asked the Counter-Intelligence Agency (POA) to state its position on four complaints of reporters who suspected that the agency had illegally bugged
their telephones.
ZAGREB, March 22 (Hina) - The council for civilian control over
security agencies has asked the Counter-Intelligence Agency (POA) to
state its position on four complaints of reporters who suspected that
the agency had illegally bugged their telephones.#L#
The council's chairman, Vlatko Cvrtila, on Monday said the council had
considered the four complaints, but he declined to say who submitted
them, justifying his move with the protection of privacy of those
persons.
"The council has asked the POA to give its official stand on
allegations in the complaints, and we expect to receive its position
by the end of this week," he said.
The council will inform the parliamentary home policy and national
security committee of this stand. If it is established that there were
some irregularities, the Office of the State Prosecutor and other
relevant bodies, including Croatia's President, Sabor president, Prime
Minister, will be notified of it, Cvrtila said.
The complaints were sent to the council after the media reported that
a former POA chief, Franjo Turek, who was recently relieved of his
duty, had acquainted the state leadership with the agency's work on
the case of the fugitive General Ante Gotovina. On that occasion,
Turek said, according to the media, that reporters Davor Butkovic,
Gordan Malic, Ivica Djikic, Boris Pavelic and Zeljko Peratovic had
followed orders of British agents and 'Croatian intelligence
underground' to spread misinformation on movements of the gen.
Gotovina, wanted by the UN war crimes tribunal.
The media reported that Turek corroborated his statements with copies
of photographs and transcripts of talks of the five reporters, and
four of them asked the said council to investigate the entire case.
(Hina) ms