Lawmakers Seek to Expand Police Phone Tapping Capabilities

The proposed legislation aims to grant the Police of the Republic of Armenia the authority to independently conduct phone taps on citizens suspected in various cases. This was stated by Armen Khachatryan, a member of the ruling 'My Step' alliance, during the discussion of amendments to the 'Operational Investigation' law in the parliamentary Standing Committee on Defense and Security on November 29.

According to him, considering the operational-investigatory powers of the police, as well as the existence of a specialized operational-technical division within the police that has the necessary specialists and technical resources, this draft law seeks to legally enable the monitoring and tapping of citizens' phone conversations using available technical means.

“This will save time that is currently spent on applying to the National Security Service to provide the necessary means and conduct organizational work,” the parliamentarian said.

He clarified that, at present, the police are forced to submit such requests to the NSS, which already has a heavy workload. In his opinion, this bill would relieve the NSS of certain obligations that do not fall within its authority, thereby reducing its workload and increasing its operational efficiency.

Despite the government's negative conclusion, the members of the parliamentary committee gave a positive opinion on the bill.