Hello, I’m listening… :: Charter'97 :: News

Issues related to the unsanctioned bugging of the citizens’ phones are, figuratively speaking, distorted into something almost unrecognizable. However, under the conditions of totalitarian states it never loses its poignancy. Belarus can serve as a confirmation to that. From time to time there appear on the pages of non-state media information about the infiltration of “unidentified” persons and organizations into the private lives of individuals and political structures, which dare disagree with Alexander Lukashenko’s views.

As a rule, the clarification of the issue whether or not someone’s eavesdropping on the phone is usually futile. Same happened when the Astravets resident Ivan Kruk tried on January 2 to receive a clear answer from the district communication department, Hrodna KGB and personally Belarus KGB chief Leonid Erin on the attachment of bugs to the phone line in his apartment.

In his statement he notes: “I, as a former police operative, learnt from reliable sources that the security service had been for a while eavesdropping on my house phone without prosecutor’s permit.” You have to admit that whenever an ordinary person says something of the kind one can get an impression that he’s too much into the detective stories. However, in our case we are talking about the detective with a long experience and personal connections in police.

Ivan Kruk believes that the reason for eavesdropping was his active part in the opposition activities, in the independent observation during parliamentarian and presidential elections.

In correspondence with the Law of the Republic of Belarus “On Appeals of the Citizens” Kruk was to receive an answer within a period from 15 to 30 days. Such difference is justified by the possible detailed examination of the issue required. He has not received an answer from the KGB chairman Erin until now. Erin’s subordinated from Hrodna KGB branch gave a very evasive answer. In the letter of the KGB men they do not state if they were eavesdropping on Kruk’s house phone or not.

After reading the answer from the Astravets Regional Communication direction, the letter from KGB rouses misgivings. The workers of communication center say that “connection of suspicious devices to your phone was not detected. For the sake of breakdown prevention the wires of the phone apparatus were repaired, and after that failures because of bad contact occurred”. To begin with, Ivan Kruk himself knows the basis of electrical engineering well, and besides he invited to his house his friend, a professional worker in communication services. They did everything possible, changed cables and a plug, examined the telephone, and so on. It was useless. And only after written addresses of Kruk he could talk on the phone without interference.