Cyprus is fast-tracking legislation that would significantly expand phone surveillance powers, with the Legal Affairs Committee debating the bills on Wednesday amid reservations from opposition party AKEL over the role of the Attorney General.
The bills would broaden the range of offences for which police can seek a court order to intercept phone communications.
Justice Minister Costas Fytris told the committee that new offences being added include murder, human trafficking, child sexual exploitation, cybercrime, illegal immigration, drug offences, and membership of a criminal organisation.
He said two further implementing bills were also being sent to the committee.
Committee chair Nicos Tornaritis announced that an emergency closed session had been scheduled for next Friday at 10 am to discuss the additional legislation.
Fytris said that provisions safeguarding privacy were built into the bills, and that the legislation also protects state security. “Our line of defence is secured by these bills,” he said.
Attorney General Giorgos Savvides stressed the urgency of passing the legislation. “I want to emphasise in the strongest terms the issue of the danger to our country’s security — it is necessary to give state services the means to do their job, and also to combat organised crime,” he said.
“Huge sums are in circulation and the state must intervene and give this superweapon to state authorities to deal with the situation.”
Savvides said the bills provide for a ten-year prison sentence for anyone who carries out unlawful surveillance, and that a three-member committee would oversee compliance with procedures. Providers would also be required to maintain a trail for every interception.
He drew a clear distinction between the two authorisation tracks: the Attorney General’s written consent applies solely to state security matters, while a court order is required in all other cases. “We are talking about asymmetric threats, about the security of the state,” he said.
Police Chief Themistos Arnaoutis said the new tool was of essential importance for combating corruption and organised crime, and for securing evidence sufficient to achieve convictions in court.
KYP (Cyprus Intelligence Service) director Tasos Tzionis was emphatic that the bills must be passed.
“We need the weapons to deal with terrorism and organised crime. We are under threat from external threats, from states, as we have seen recently — that is why we want these tools and we will succeed,” he said. The KYP director added that speed and confidentiality were indispensable requirements.
Deputy Attorney General Savvas Angelidis clarified that the legislation addresses state security rather than the commission of a criminal offence, and that a court order would be sought if a case proceeded to trial.
Telecoms providers called on the government to bear the cost of maintaining the equipment required for interceptions.
AKEL MP Andreas Pasiourtidis noted that a surveillance “superweapon” had been granted in 2020 and had never been used.
Committee chair Tornaritis said that MPs did not seek exemption from the process, and questioned whether a person harming Cyprus’s interests should go unchecked on grounds of immunity.