wiretapping

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Freedom of Expression

Secret audio recordings suggest racket in Georgian Government

by OC Media

•4 min read

A secret audio recording released on Friday suggests that former Georgian sports minister Levan Kipiani attempted to extort expensive cars for other ministers from Omega Group, a business group that owns local TV channel Iberia TV. The authenticity of the recording has not yet been verified, but this is the second secret audio recording released in recent weeks suggesting the government is applying pressure on Omega Group. In the first recording, released on 10 September, a person alleged t

Armenia

Armenian security service pressured judge according to wiretapped phone calls

by OC Media

•4 min read

In wiretapped phone conversations between two top security chiefs, the head of Armenia’s National Security Service, Sasun Khachatryan claimed to have ordered a judge to detain former president Robert Kocharyan. In conversations with the head of the Special Investigative Service leaked online, the two also discuss Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan ‘ordering the arrest’ of former Deputy Defence Minister Yuri Khachaturov. The phone conversations between Artur Vanetsyan, Director of the National S

Georgia

Georgia’s parliament overrides presidential veto of surveillance bill

by OC Media

•2 min read

Georgia’s parliament overrode President Giorgi Margvelashvili’s veto of a controversial surveillance bill on 22 March. The bill has faced criticism for not making core changes to the previous surveillance legislation, which gives state security agencies easy access to citizens’ personal information. Margvelashvili vetoed the new surveillance bill on 20 March, following its adoption by parliament on 1 March. The president added his remarks to the bill before sending it back to parliament. Ac

Feature Stories

Georgia’s perpetual system of illegal surveillance

by Volodymyr Soboliev

•4 min read

The Georgian government has shown no enthusiasm for changing its long-condemned secret surveillance system, which grants the authorities direct access to mobile operators, leading to illegal surveillance. Their reluctance to give up on this defective approach has led rights organisations to boycott the working group on a new bill in parliament. Until 2014, Georgian investigative bodies had direct access to phone lines and metadata (the time, location, and duration calls) without any kind of