Is Armenia becoming a police state? Police receive right to eavesdrop

The Armenian parliament adopted a Law on Wiretapping on January 21. Now, not only the National Security Service will be able to eavesdrop on conversations of citizens, but the police will be able to as well.

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Moreover, MPs adopting the law did not take heed the pleas of the government. The day before the vote, Deputy Minister of Justice Srbuy Galyan, on behalf of the government, called on the parliament to vote against the wiretap bill, which, incidentally, was developed by members of the ruling My Step party. The deputy minister called on MPs not to pass the bill given that the adoption of the law involves large additional costs for the purchase of technical equipment for the police.

In addition, the government had an idea to grant the right to wiretap conversations to a private company, assuring parliament the activities of this organization would be under strict control. However, the parliament preferred to give this right to the police.