29 apr 2024 om 16:25
As of May 1, the Public Prosecution Service will adjust the rules regarding eavesdropping on suspects in the presence of journalists. From now on, an examining magistrate must always give prior permission to record confidential communications if it appears that a journalist is also involved.
The Public Prosecution Service announced this on Monday. The reason for the policy change is a criminal investigation into the three former directors of the Auxiliary Alliance Foundation regarding the controversial face mask deal. In October it was announced that the Public Prosecution Service had heard a conversation between journalists The Correspondencest and Sywert van Lienden and his business partners had eavesdropped.
The Public Prosecution Service previously announced that the examining magistrate had given permission to install listening equipment at the meeting location. But the night before it turned out that journalists would also be joining us. The officers of the Functional Prosecutor’s Office decided that the eavesdropping could continue. The eavesdropping was aimed at the suspects and not at the journalists.
The new instructions stipulate that an examining magistrate must be informed immediately in such a situation. The investigating judge can then assess whether the eavesdropping can continue. And if so, whether this is possible under the same conditions. The chief officer must also agree to the use of listening equipment. That had not happened in the Van Lienden wiretapping case. Finally, the Board of Attorneys General, the leadership of the Public Prosecution Service, must be informed in advance.
Tags: Public Prosecution Service adjusts policy eavesdropping Sywert van Lienden journalists Domestic
